PFF scouting report: Robert Davis, WR, Georgia State

Name: Robert Davis

School: Georgia State

Position fit: “X” receiver

Stats to know: Davis averaged 2.38 yards per route run last season, 21st among non-Power 5 receivers with at least 100 targets.

What he does best:

• Able to beat press coverage off the line with combination of quick feet and subtle hands work.
• Long strider, once he gets up to top speed he can run by defenders.
• Good hands and long reach, has a large catch radius.
• Great deep ball skills, can track the ball in the air and adjust his route in order to catch the ball over his shoulder.
• Great body control on off target throws, can twist and turn in the air to make a circus catch. Very good at high pointing 50/50 balls.
• Surprisingly quick stopper on routes considering his long strides. Runs good hooks because of how quickly he can break down if coverage is retreating.
• Athletic freak. Combine tests resulted in a SPARQ score of 141.5, which ranks in the 98.8th percentile among NFL receivers.

Biggest concern:

• Athleticism doesn’t translate to tape. Would not have guessed he could run a 4.44 40-yard dash after watching his tape. Often seemed to struggle to separate deep against Sun Belt corners.
• Effort questions. Seems to give up on routes almost immediately if he thinks he won’t be getting the ball. May also be the reason his speed didn’t always translate to tape.
• Not physical at all. Let much smaller defenders get hands on him and completely re-route him. At catch points on routes like slants and hooks, will let defenders just blow him up rather than try to box them out or shield himself.
• Jumps or falls down unnecessarily on routes that he could catch in stride and it costs him easy YAC yards.
• Slow, obvious breaks on most routes that have cuts. Doesn’t run very many routes and when he does they’re often sloppy.

Player comparison: Jeff Janis, Green Bay Packers

Janis was another small-school prospect that tested extremely well at the combine and had deep-threat ability coming into the league. But Janis has yet to really put it all together, despite flashing a few times. Davis could find a similar role if he can’t translate his raw athletic ability into on-the-field ability.

Bottom line: Davis is a guy who will probably be drafted just on his combine results alone. That isn’t the worst thing in the world either because his numbers were incredible. Davis is clearly an athletic freak, but whoever drafts him will need to figure out why that didn’t translate on tape in college. But Davis does have the potential to be a great deep threat receiver even if he never really develops next-level route running. He’s a guy a team would be wise to pick up in a late round and see if he can develop down the line.