JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jaguars' safety depth has gone from a glaring weakness to a sizable strength in a matter of a few months.
The Jaguars will bring back last year's starters, Tashaun Gipson and Barry Church, while also housing upgrades behind them. The team selected Alabama safety Ronnie Harrison in the third round of April's NFL Draft and signed veteran free agents Don Carey and Cody Davis, bolstering what had been one of the weakest spots on the roster.
Carey and Davis were brought in as major special teams assets. However, Davis surprised his coaching staff with his ability to play free safety during organized team activities.
While Gipson was sidelined with an undisclosed injury during the majority of OTA workouts, Davis manned the free safety spot and made an impression, showing off his athleticism by making plays in coverage.
The highlight of his OTA performance came during the third session of the voluntary workout phase. Quarterback Blake Bortles had a pass batted into the air at the line of scrimmage and Davis made a play on the ball for an interception. Davis showed strong instincts and speed as he closed in on the loose ball.
"Cody Davis, a pleasant surprise from my perspective, has really good straight-line speed," Jaguars secondary coach Perry Fewell said last week.
"He has been a good communicator back there with Barry Church. Obviously, he’s getting to know our scheme and trying to learn all the little terminology and what goes with what. If he continues to improve in that area, I think we have strengthened ourselves at the safety position with Ronnie [Harrison] and Cody and [Jarrod Wilson]. I think we have good competition back there, and we can be better at the safety position with more depth.”
Davis received a two-year contract from the Jaguars in free agency following a five-year stint with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams. While he was mostly known for his special teams prowess, Davis had begun to receive solid defensive snaps towards the end of his tenure with the Rams.
Over the past two seasons, Davis produced 36 tackles, seven pass breakups and two interceptions in 22 games (five starts). While a thigh injury halted a good chunk of his final season in Los Angeles, Davis made a big enough impression on film to intrigue the Jaguars' front office.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound safety, who went undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2013, could carve out a role as the third safety in the Jaguars' defense. As he flashes during the offseason program, momentum continues to develop towards him receiving an unexpectedly large role on both special teams and defense.
“Cody is an extremely good athlete," defensive coordinator Todd Wash said.
"We knew he was a great special teams player coming in. We did not know a lot about him defensively. He fits into our package well. You like the size, the speed, the athleticism. He can play in the box. He is very intelligent to get down there and understand the run schemes and everything we are asking him to do. Obviously, he has the athleticism to play in the back.”
Davis will enter the team's mandatory minicamp and training camp with higher expectations on defense. While his upside at free safety flashed during OTAs, the Jaguars will need to see consistent strides to increase his playing time when it counts.
Davis is currently competing with Harrison, Carey and Wilson to be the first safety off the bench this season. If he can carry over his OTA success to minicamp, training camp and the preseason, the Jaguars will have found a major steal in free agency, turning their safety group into one of the deepest units in the league.
Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter at @Mike_E_Kaye.