Following the conclusion of the NFL Draft, Giants GM Joe Schoen said that the team sees fifth-round pick D.J. Davidson as a nose guard, and are “excited about working with him inside” as a “good depth player that has some upside.”
Davidson, likewise, is glad he landed with the Giants, with whom he had several conversations after making his 30 visit earlier in April.
“I talked with everybody when I was there and had constant phone calls; the building is amazing, the coaches are amazing. I love the Giants,” he said Saturday after being selected. “I believe what made the positive impression is who I am as a person. I went back to my roots. I stayed true to myself. I stayed true and kept it real with the owners, with (defensive line) coach (Andre) Patterson, with all of them and what my goals are, just to be the best teammate, to be the best player that I can be, have them challenge me every day, my good days and bad days, and continue to respond in a positive way.”
Staying true to himself was important, as Davidson knew that as a likely later-round pick, it’s not as easy to stick on a 53-man roster of even a practice squad – so he wanted teams to know exactly what they were getting if they selected him.
“I said those things to them, and I think that's the main thing is just me as a person, they know the character that I am and just keeping the main thing the main thing, coming in, be the best team player, and just really put myself in the best ability and the best situation in their defensive scheme and what they have for this next season coming up,” he said.
Davidson agrees with Schoen’s assessment that he is primarily a nose tackle, but he’s also wanting to show the Giants he can expand his versatility – a trait the Giants lauded all of their Day 3 picks for.
Related
“I would say primary nose tackle but also at the 3-technique as well, be versatile. I expect myself to pick up on things very quickly and make sure I continue to stay in shape and continue to do the right things that I have been doing to get to this point,” he said. “As I said before, stay true to myself, stay true to my identity, and just really play for my teammates and for Coach Patterson. That’s what I expect from myself, and that's what I hope everybody in the building expects from me, is just be the best person, the best player, the best teammate that I can be.”
Davidson’s journey to the NFL wasn’t exactly a linear one, as he didn’t start playing football until his freshman year of high school.
“I was in a gym and the head coach and the D-line coach brought me in. They were telling me, this isn't basketball tryouts, come sit over here.
You are a big body, you can come play D-Line. I said, ‘okay, let's get it,’” Davidson recalled. “Once I just fell in love with the sport, with that brotherhood, the camaraderie, the people that were all around me, the support systems, they really motivated me to get to that next level in college.”
Davidson was originally offered a scholarship at Central Florida, but ended up staying home with the Sun Devils after that fell through, and five years later he’s in the NFL.
He had a pretty good mentor along the way in former Giant Antonio Pierce, who spent 2018-21 as a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Arizona State before joining the Raiders as their linebackers coach.
Davidson didn’t talk to Pierce much after he left for Las Vegas, so he hasn’t yet gotten the inside scoop on life as a Giant, but seeing Pierce’s NFL highlights definitely made an impression.
“He never really talked to me about the Giants, but when he was our DC, he always put up his film. I always saw Twitter clips of him being a monster on the field, coming downhill, making tackles for loss, covering in coverage, all those types of things,” he said. “That's what really inspired me as a player, seeing my defensive coordinator in that position.”
And, those memories will inspire him to be the best Giant he can be.
“Knowing he played there and seeing that, I want to live up to what he lived up to and be on that level with him.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch