The Lions need a lockdown corner, and "you about to get a lockdown corner," said Carlton Davis III.
Introduced to the media Wednesday after being acquired by the Lions in a trade with the Bucs, Davis left no doubt about his intentions in Detroit.
"You about to have one side (of the field) unavailable. That's what I do," he said. "I'm here to take the No. 1 receiver on these teams. I'm here to deny the ball, I'm here to take the ball away."
Davis did a lot of that during his time with the Bucs. He's second in the NFL over the last five seasons with 69 passes defended. And while he has just nine picks over that stretch, he has come to thrive in man coverage, a staple of Aaron Glenn's defense in Detroit.
On 89 targets in man coverage the last three seasons, including the playoffs, Davis allowed just 39 completions and a passer rating of 66.46. He's 6'1 with long arms, and plays a physical game on the outside. Bengals star receiver Ja'Marr Chase said last year that Davis is the best defensive back he's faced in the NFL.
The Lions had a bear of a time trying to cover players of Chase's ilk last season. The job often fell to Cam Sutton, who allowed a passer rating in man coverage of 98.9. As the Lions started blitzing more down the stretch and left their corners to fend for themselves, they were torched by No. 1 receivers. In their final six games, they allowed Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Puka Nacua, Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel to catch 56 of 72 passes for 977 yards and five touchdowns -- and died on the doorstep of the Super Bowl.
Davis says he's here to change that.
“I’ve done it, taken guys out of the game before. Check the film. Turn on the Tampa Bay film. Turn on me against top receivers and see their stats when I’m on them. Not when they’re in zone. Not when they’re in the slot running away from me. Not when I'm in zone. When I’m man-on-man, press. Turn on that film, and then let me know what you think," he said.
In man coverage last season, Davis allowed a passer rating (66.7) that was almost identical to that of Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, who was widely considered an ideal offseason target for Detroit. That doesn't make Davis Sneed's equal, but it does speak to his ability to win matchups on an island.
“There’s a reason why I’m here and why they wanted me to be here," he said. "If you do your research, you know."
How long he'll be here remains to be seen. Davis, 27, is entering the final season of a $44.5 million deal that carries a $14.3 million cap hit in 2024. The Lions, who sacrificed a third-round pick to acquire him, would probably like to keep him around for more than a year. Davis, while noting "I just got here," would already like to stay. He said he's had exploratory talks with the team about signing an extension, which would also be a way for the Lions lower his cap hit this year.
"Would love to sign here. Definitely want to get my feet wet first and get into the building before I start talking extension, but this is a great organization that’s trending upward," Davis said. "So I would love to be a part of a dynasty where we can go and win multiple championships over the next couple years, man. I think they have a nice young roster, great coaching staff, great culture here to do it, honestly."
The clearest knock against Davis is his ability to stay on the field. He missed 16 games the last three seasons due to various injuries, including toe, hip, groin and head injuries last season. He's yet to play a full season in his six-year career, which is part of why the Bucs, a contender themselves in the NFC South, were willing to let him go.
Davis said the trade came as "a shock ... but after talking about it with my family, understanding the situation, where I was going and the opportunity, it gave me a lot of excitement, a lot of hope, coming here."
"Detroit has a big market, a big fanbase, something that I'm really looking forward to diving into and being a part of," he said.
He got a feel for that fanbase when the Buccaneers hosted the Lions last season and it was "just blue everywhere. You can always tell when a team has a strong fanbase if they come in and just take over." And he got a taste of his new team, a bitter one at the time, when the Lions beat the Bucs in Tampa and then ended their season in the divisional round of the playoffs in Detroit. Davis said he was struck by "how resilient that group was, and just the fight and the dawg they had."
"You can tell the culture here is good, because usually when you're in a tough battle, a team at some point budges. And they never budged," he said. "They kept the same energy and physicality, just bringing it with their play. Being an opponent, you recognize things like that and respect those qualities in a team."
The Lions haven't had a true No. 1 corner since the departure of Darius Slay. That's how Davis views himself, while the Lions view him as "a piece that can really help us get to the next step," he said. They're on the doorstep as it is. A Super Bowl champ in Tampa, Davis wants to lock down No. 1 receivers, and unlock the door in Detroit.