6 defensive tackles the Panthers could draft in 2020
By Dean Jones
Raekwon Davis – (Alabama)
Raekwon Davis exploded onto the scene for Alabama in 2017. This resulted in a significant amount of success to take away from a highly productive college career.
His impact during his sophomore season was nothing short of sensational. Davis recorded 8.5 sacks from the defensive tackle position and a crucial interception in the school’s National Championship triumph over Georgia.
He was a ferocious presence on the line of scrimmage, but he did not match these sorts of numbers during his final two seasons in Alabama. This could have been due to the program losing some star defenders to the NFL, which resulted in considerably more attention brought on Davis to decrease his ability to disrupt opposing quarterbacks and running backs.
Davis still managed to perform well in 2018 despite not stuffing the stat sheet like he did the previous season. He recorded 55 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and he emerged as one of the best run stoppers in the college system.
This is a trend Davis continued during his senior year in an otherwise disappointing campaign for Nick Saban’s team. He notched 47 total tackles and just half a sack and admitted he, “wasn’t focused enough,” during the season.
Davis’ time in college also came with some considerable drama. He suffered a minor gunshot wound in 2017 following an incident outside a Tuscaloosa bar. Thankfully, this did not hurt his overall reputation or his ability to make plays on the field.
He is projected to go somewhere in the second or third round, so if the Carolina Panthers opt to use their first-rounder on another position it would put Davis in play.