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A Good Look at Rookie RB James Davis


I just came across this featured article from ROTOWORLD.com This seems to reinforce any rumors that may be swirling around Jamal Lewis's release. Now for the moment, Jamal Lewis's possible release is all just hearsay, I don't currently know what salary cap implications his release would have. But if any of you reading this have seen Davis's play this year, he could be this years 6th round steal in the draft.

James Davis is moving up Rotoworld's Top 200s

.....With Jamal Lewis running on empty and Jerome Harrison injured for most of camp, Davis has seen work with the Browns' starters. He's faced his share of Green Bay, Detroit, and Tennessee's first-team defenders.

Davis ranks fifth in the NFL in preseason rushing (149 yards). Among running backs with 15 or more attempts, Davis leads the league in yards-per-carry average (7.8 on 19 totes), with only Mike Bell (7.7 on 15), Ahmad Bradshaw (7.2 on 19), and the Vikings' Adrian Peterson (7.2 on 25) on his tail. Meanwhile, Lewis is sitting on a 2.6 YPC average on 24 carries after turning 30 last week and averaging 3.6 YPC in 2008. As anybody who watched a Browns game last year knows, Lewis is no longer a starting-caliber NFL player.

The third exhibition is treated by coaching staffs as a serious regular-season tuneup (ask Dennis Green). Starters play into the third quarter. Cleveland had a tough opponent (Tennessee was 7th in the NFL in total defense last year, 6th against the run), which allows us to properly assess Davis' pro readiness.

Let's have a series-by-series look:

**Lewis started, but Davis played on the Browns' opening possession. On third-and-nine, Davis replaced Lewis and caught an eight-yard pass. Cleveland opted to punt (typical Eric Mangini conservativism, considering it's the preseason and the Browns were in Titans territory), but the play indicates that Davis is already the favorite for third-down snaps.

**Davis also played on Cleveland's second possession, carrying for one yard on first-and-ten. Lewis carried four times on the drive, but the mere usage of Davis with the first-team offense indicates an emerging rotation.

**On the Browns' third possession, Davis again replaced Lewis on third down and caught another eight-yard pass.

**Davis remained active on the fourth possession with back-to-back five-yard rushes.

**With Lewis playing into quarter three, Davis again replaced him on third down and caught a seven-yard pass to pick up a first. Davis broke into the Titans' secondary two plays later with a 16-yard explosion on third-and-12.

Reports of Lewis looking "slow, tentative, and decidedly unquick" have been prevalent in Browns newspapers over the last two weeks. NFL insider Mike Lombardi went so far as to suggest that Lewis could miss the final cut on Saturday. It'd be quite a mistake to admit after the Browns paid Lewis a $4 million roster bonus this offseason, but clearly the team will lean on Davis early. Already the passing-down specialist and "change of pace" to Lewis, Davis has a good shot to unseat Cleveland's incumbent by Week 4. If not sooner.

Posted by Evan Silva on September 3, 2009
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