Beast in the trenches alert! Wyatt Davis has been among a plethora of monsters on the offensive line for Ohio State. It is no secret that this line has talent at each position, particularly in him. From J.K. Dobbins rushing for 2,000 yards or Justin Fields having a resurgent career in Columbus, the Buckeyes’ offensive line puts in the work for their skilled stars. Rumors state that Davis is too raw to be a first round pick, but let’s make sure the tape matches up with the word on the street. Here we go.
Player Bio
Name: Wyatt Davis
Jersey: #52
Position: Guard
School: Ohio State
Class: Junior
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 315 lbs
Note: this scale uses 5.0 as average, 10.0 as the greatest of all time.
Run Blocking (6.0/10)
Davis is very raw here and is hit-or-miss on his blocks. He will either be lost, get blockshed, or destroy a defender. The flashes are there, and that will develop with good coaching. Day one will prove to be a learning curve for him. Davis can be a train, but he needs to be on the move or in a double team to maximize his blocking potential.
In an inside zone scheme he will not play nearly as well as he would in an outside scheme. Have Davis on the move, let the game slow down a bit, and he may be an absolute monster on the interior.
Pass Blocking (6.25/10)
Davis has some good traits here, but he still (again) is raw. He has solid leverage and has many great reps in a moving pocket. This said, Davis will not succeed with an immobile quarterback in a stable pocket scheme. He got pushed back by Antonio Shelton and Demarcus Elliott (who are not great). The bottom line is that Davis needs to use his athleticism and leg power to maximize his potential as both a pass and run blocker.
Length (5/10)
The Bellflower, CA native’s length is not an asset, but it is not a liability either. He does not get ‘over-lengthed’ by many players, but there are reps on tape that do show him getting handled by defenders. Elliott literally threw Davis to the ground. Again, there are few reps like this, but they do appear. The issue is that there will be greater talent at the next level that may make these few instances become an issue.
Footwork (6.5/10)
Davis has solid footwork, there are few questions about that. He is not always in position, but there are rarely any instances of issues with his feet. It seems to stem from his mind rather than physical positioning.
Hands (3.75/10)
Surprisingly weak here. He has some flashes of good hand placement and control, but those are only flashes. Consistency is certainly a question. Davis seems to not be able to control many defenders. What is concerning is that he sometimes whiffs on blocks.
Davis seems to use his shoulder pad when he misses his hand placement, which is either a positive or a negative (at least he is trying), but the guard seems to use it as a fallback instead of trying to reshoot his hands. One more note: He is not very solid in hand fighting, which may be a problem with elite technicians at the next level.
IQ (4.75/10)
Davis is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde here. There are many plays where he looks absolutely lost; not finding a player to block on many plays. This is easily fixable with more practice and tape study.
Davis does, in fact, switch off blocks fairly well apart from one horrific snap that almost got Fields killed. On that rep he double teamed an edge rusher and allowed two free rushers in. One was taken by the running back and Davis recognized that. The problem was that he realized it too late. This too seems to be fixable as he continues to develop. The bottom line is that Davis’s post-snap processor needs a lot of work, but it is far from unfixable.
Athleticism (7.25/10)
Davis is a solid athlete. He is quick, agile, and has enough upper body strength with solid lower body strength. Davis does lack some speed, but he is perfectly fine fitting a zone role. The only thing missing is experience.
Power at the Point of Attack (7.25/10)
the former Buckeye is inconsistent here, as well. There are plays where he is a freight train and eliminates defenders. There definitely is a fear factor for Davis on the field. In a stable pocket, however, there are moments where he can be driven back at an alarming rate by some subpar defenders. With a moving pocket this will be less of a concern, but it is worthy of noting. Davis also did not show the train-like power on many snaps, but they did appear when they needed to.
Positional Versatility (3.0/10)
Unfortunately for Davis, there is little room to move on the line. His length (or use of length) eliminates him from being a tackle. He should not be a center, either. Where Davis really hurts is scheme versatility. Although he has solid strength and athleticism, the plays where the scheme was not zone-heavy (run or pass) seemed to be significantly worse than a moving pocket or an outside zone run. Luckily for him, the NFL seems to cater to his strengths. However, for this category, he will score low.
Competitive Toughness (4.25/5)
Davis works his tail off almost every play. His inconsistencies drop the score a little bit, but it will not affect it too much.
Injury (2/5)
Ouch. Davis was very recently injured in the National Championship with a terrifying lower body injury. This occurred barely over a month after a knee injury against Michigan State. Health appears to be a red flag. These seem to be the only injuries that caused Davis to miss time in his three-year tenure, however.
Player Summary
The hype and rumors are both true in their own ways. Davis is far too raw to be taken as a day one Pro Bowler. He has too many red flags that need to be coached out of him as he develops. In the right scheme, however, he can be a first-day impact with extreme upside. Teams running a zone scheme and a moving pocket will absolutely love him, and there would be little surprise if a team that runs such a scheme would take him in the first round.
There is a lot to be worried about with him, but there also is a ton to like about Davis’s projection. At the end of the day, a scout’s job is to report what he sees. More importantly, a scout’s job is to report what a player could and should be. Davis should be a star at the next level, but he will only do so in the right scheme and if he stays healthy. If not, the hype will be for nothing.
Final Grade (56/100): 2nd Round
Player Comp: Mark Glowinski
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