The AFC East blog continues its "Show and Prove" series in the division for 2013.
Next we take a look at New York Jets starting linebacker DeMario Davis.
2012 stats: 36 tackles
What he has to prove: Davis must prove he is the long-term solution at inside linebacker for New York. The Jets drafted Davis in the third round in 2012, and now it’s his turn to step up after the team cut veteran linebacker Bart Scott. The Jets are in full rebuild mode in 2013. They desperately need young leaders to emerge, and it’s important that Davis develops into one of those players.
Walker's 2013 outlook: The Jets put a lot of hype on Davis as soon as he arrived, and I’m not sure that was a good idea. New York head coach Rex Ryan compared him to a young Ray Lewis last year in training camp before Davis played his first NFL game. That raised a lot of eyebrows. Davis didn’t see the field regularly until the second half of his rookie season. I saw some flashes of athleticism. But Davis didn’t make many impact plays, and I’m still not convinced he’s the next great linebacker under Ryan. Davis must prove he can be a consistent playmaker for 16 games.
