The Indianapolis Colts signed defensive tackle Raekwon Davis in free agency to bolster their run defense depth. Now without DeForest Buckner, Davis’ role needs to expand.
In his first two games with the Colts, Davis played 48 total snaps, 18 of which came in Week 1 and then 30 in Week 2. While Davis did end up out-snapping Taven Bryan, it was Bryan who got the start over him with DeForest Buckner on a snap count against Green Bay before exiting with an ankle injury.
Percentage-wise, Davis played 23 percent of the Colts defensive snaps in Week 1 and 43 percent in Week 2. Perhaps after missing most of training camp, the Colts were easing Davis back in, but now, without Buckner, his workload will likely have to increase.
During Davis’ previous two seasons in Miami, his overall snap count was in the 50 percent range of the Dolphins’ total defensive snaps. Moving forward, it feels like that should be the floor for Davis in terms of playing time.
When on the field, Davis has recorded just two tackles and a run-stop–there’s certainly more help he can provide. But his impact isn’t always going to show up on the stat sheet either.
Listed at 6-7 – 335 pounds, Davis will be tasked at times with eating up space and taking on double-teams, which hopefully opens up opportunities for others to make plays.
When it comes to stopping the run, Davis should be ahead of Taven Bryan and Adetomiwa Adebawore, two undersized defensive tackles, who, ideally, are utilized as pass rushers.
At such a heavily rotated position, there are going to be snaps where Bryan and Adebawore are asked to defend the run, but Gus Bradley can try to minimize those opportunities.
The Colts are very high on the depth of their defensive line and want to rely on a hockey-like line rotation up front. However, the run defense has been gashed for two games and the defensive front is now dealing with injuries.
As much as possible, you need your best players on the field, particularly now, and as mentioned, Davis was brought in to help improve the run defense depth, so with that depth being tested, he needs more snaps and needs to make an impact.
