2020 NFL Draft: Health of Cal safety Ashtyn Davis officially a concern

Cal safety Ashtyn Davis is known for his track speed but will not get the opportunity to show it. How will this impact his 2020 NFL Draft stock?

A top-five safety in this year’s 2020 NFL Draft class, Cal’s Ashtyn Davis, has seen his draft stock on the rise, falling in the second-third round range in most mock drafts. However, as this pre-draft process chugs along, Davis may be beginning to worry teams as he will be sidelined for yet another event.

Despite only missing three games in three years for the Golden Bears, this latest string of missed action could cause NFL teams to suffer from a bout of recency bias and drop Davis on their boards. Davis missed the Reese’s Senior Bowl last month as he was recovering from a groin injury that caused him to miss Cal’s Bowl game as well.

The reason Davis chose to sit out of the Senior Bowl was to recover in time to test at the combine, set to take place this weekend. Yesterday, however, it was announced that Davis is still battling his groin injury and will not be ready to test on the biggest stage possible for a draft hopeful.

The combine was the event that Davis and teams were looking forward to, since the track star and hurdler was anticipating gaudy numbers at Lucas Oil Stadium. NFL teams and Davis alike will have to wait until his pro day in order to see the rangy safety in action and to get a glimpse of his top-tier athleticism.

Davis, a cornerback who converted to safety in his third year, put together two solid years of production for the Golden Bears. Over the past two seasons, Davis posted a total of 68 solo tackles, two tackles for loss, six interceptions and nine passes defended. Ending his career this year at the University of California-Berkeley, Davis tallied two picks, four passes defended, a forced fumble and 32 solo tackles.

Again, while Davis did not have a steep injury history at Cal, and he is only dealing with a nagging groin injury, NFL teams frequently suffer from recency bias. This could be a concern for Davis as small school safeties Jeremy Chinn and Kyle Dugger continue to climb the ranks.

As a redshirt senior, Davis is also one of the older safeties in this year’s class. In fact, he’s nearing the age of 24 before even entering the league. Age plays a factor in where players are selected, and teams could opt for the younger Antoine Winfield Jr. over him should it become the deciding factor.

It is doubtful we’ll see Davis fall out of the second day of the draft, but it is absolutely possible for him to fall out of the top-five safeties in the 2020 NFL Draft. After missing Cal’s bowl game, then the Senior Bowl and now the combine, Davis will need to put together a spectacular pro day in order to prove to NFL teams that he is still worth the use of valuable draft capital on.