With the No. 147 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the New York Giants select Arizona State defensive lineman D.J. Davidson.
Entering the draft, nose tackle was one of the team’s most underrated needs and it seemed like a certainty that general manager Joe Schoen would address it at some point. And he did early in Round 5.
The 6-foot-5, 325-pound Davidson will come in and compete for a starting spot immediately. At worst, he’ll be used in a rotation to help clog the middle lanes and eat up blockers for the team’s edge rushers and blitzers.
Here is what NFL Network draft guru Lance Zierlein had to say about Davidson:
Gap-stuffing nose tackle who plays with good strength to disrupt blocking from guard to guard. Davidson is an early-down run defender only, but he can be a handful to get blocked on those downs. He plays on a bulky, powerful base that helps absorb double teams with relative success and he has the upper-body strength to beat a single block. He needs to improve his hand command at the point of attack and learn to shed with better timing to help him finish more consistently. Davidson projects as a backup nose for odd or even fronts.
Davidson joins a group that consists of Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, Raymond Johnson and others.
Lawrence is technically listed as a nose tackle but can move around and play three downs. The only other true NT on the Giants’ roster is Justin Ellis.
