Back in Week 7 against Mohamed Sanu and the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts star cornerback Vontae Davis earned our “Player of the Week”award for a truly dominant performance in which he allowed just two receptions on seven targets thrown into his coverage and helped lead the Colts to a shutout win. With Robert Mathis out this season with an injury, Davis has clearly been the Colts MVP on defense, and he has shown off his elite talent in just about every game through the first-half of this season.
The Colts signed Davis to a four-year, $36 million contract, and while that’s a hefty sum of money, he definitely deserved it. Although the likes of Aqib Talib and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie also hit the free agent market, Davis was my top-ranked cornerback on the free agent market and my sixth-ranked free agent overall. I was smitten by his ridiculous performance against Demaryius Thomas and the Denver Broncos last season in the Colts upset victory, as he took one of the game’s top five receivers out of the game.
Horseshoe Heroes
One knock on Davis has been a lack of week-to-week consistency, because while he is capable of the truly spectacular in any given week, he did have a few disappointing off games last season. He’s definitely cut down on those this year, and I think you can make a legitimate argument that he’s been the best cornerback in the league this season. Chris Harris Jr., Brandon Flowers, and Darrelle Revis all have something to say about that, but I’d wager that Davis has been even more impressive than those guys (well, he and Harris are essentially a tie in my book, and Harris also won our “Player of the Week” award once.
Tape trumps numbers, but it’s difficult to run through every single play and come up with a truly objective look at a player’s play on film. The Pro Football Focus does a great job of achieving that , and their findings can be somewhat summed up by the analytics they provide. While they make sure to tell us that their grade is the most important number due to the fact that stats aren’t all-encompassing, it would be far too simplistic to say, “Hey guys, this was his grade.” It’s better to take a look at some of the numbers, because they accurately portray Davis’s dominance.
According to PFF, Davis has allowed a QB Rating of 41.1 with a meager 43.2% of all passes thrown in his coverage ending up in completions. Those are two ridiculously low numbers, and it’s almost mind-boggling how excellent he’s been in coverage. Even more ridiculous are Davis’s ball skills, as he’s been making plays at an astounding rate with 14 passes defended already to his credit this season.
It’s obvious to opposing offenses (at least, it should be) that Davis is clearly the best player on a secondary that includes Greg Toler, so his 14 PDs come even when teams are trying to avoid him. He has two interceptions to boot, but the most impressive ball skill-related stat is the fact that he has almost as many passes defended (14) as receptions allowed (19). And with no touchdowns against him to go with a longest pass play allowed of 26 yards, Davis has made sure that teams aren’t connecting for big plays on those 19 receptions he’s allowed.
Comparing cornerbacks is an inexact science and very subjective, since there isn’t much differentiating Harris, Davis, and Flowers in terms of play this season. But it’s clear to me that Vontae Davis has been one of the best CBs in the NFL this season, and he has definitely staked his claim for being a top-five corner in this league overall. As of right now, Harris, Revis, and Richard Sherman are the only three corners I would take over him, and Harris mostly gets the nod because of his incredible versatility. Davis is playing as well as anyone at the position, and those numbers don’t lie. When you look at his importance to the Indianapolis Colts defense, I think his contributions become even more impressive, because it’s clear that they are relying on him to be elite.
$36 million over four years? That’s money well-spent in this case.