Cleveland Browns draft comparison: Jamin Davis vs. Zaven Collins

Jamin Davis may be as valuable as Zaven Collins if the Cleveland Browns want to go linebacker in Round 1. 

The Cleveland Browns could use some help at linebacker, and there is quite a bit of buzz surrounding Zaven Collins, but Jamin Davis from Kentucky is a worthy Round 1 player as well in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft.

Collins is a  6-4, 259-pound terror from Tulsa, who demonstrated a high degree of athleticism making highlight reels in the American Athletic Conference. Early on this fan was all in for Collins, especially based on reports in The Athletic that he was able to hit a top speed of 21.06 mph during an interception return, according to a wearable GPS that he was said to have worn.

Nick Chubb’s top gear has been measured at around 21.95 mph, so this fan figured that Collins was really, really fast. Like, faster than Nick Chubb fast. Hence, his 4.67 time in the 40-yard dash at his Pro Day, though very good for a big man, was a disappointment after the hyperbole from elsewhere in the press. We need to get that GPS fixed.

Jamin Davis, on the other hand, played for the Kentucky Wildcats in the Southeastern Conference, where he led the team in tackles (102) and was second in interceptions (3) as a junior in 2020. The Wildcats were 4-6 in 2020 and overshadowed by teams like Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

Still, he was named by Pro Football Focus as First Team All-SEC in 2020. Hence he was a key defensive player for a team that played in a very rough neighborhood.

Davis clocked 4.47 at his Pro Day, and really did beat Chubb’s Combine time of 4.52 seconds. That is fast.

Pro Day results are not quite as consistent as Combine results because we don’t know exactly what condition the track was in; what equipment was used to make the measurement, and that sort of thing, but suffice it to say that we can believe Jamin Davis has legit speed for a linebacker.

He’s not nearly as big as Collins at 6-3 1/2 and  234-pounds, but he also turned in a 42-inch vertical leap. That’s an inch higher than Myles Garrett, the reigning Browns vertical leap champion. He also posted an 11-foot-0 leap in the broad jump.

Collins would be the fourth fastest linebacker on the Browns, behind Sione Takitaki, who was clocked at 4.63, Mack Wilson, who clocked 4.65, and Jacob Phillips, who ran a 4.66. That’s still very good, and you get 259 pounds to go along with it. Collins knocked out 19 reps on the bench press versus 21 for Davis. Neither of those totals is Hall-of-Fame worthy, but okay for a linebacker.

So, what do you think? Both players are going to play football on Sunday. One player has gotten quite a bit of favorable publicity for heads-up aggressive play on a nationally ranked team, but one that plays in a non-Power Five Conference. He is big but did not post exceptional Pro Day numbers.

The other player was a star on a middle-of-the-pack SEC team that did not get a lot of attention from the media. However, he can run faster than Nick Chubb and out-jump Myles Garrett and basically torched his Pro Day and made FIrst String All-SEC according to Pro Football Focus. That isn’t too shabby, is it? He has the speed to cover a tight end in today’s NFL. He fits the 4-2-5 scheme that traditionalists seem to hate but which they actually play on Sundays.

For what it is worth, NFL Mock Draft Database grades Davis as an early-to-mid second-round pick, and Zaven Collins is ranked as a late first-round pick. So does CBSSports. So there are different opinions, but the bottom line is they are both good players and either player could be a great addition to the Cleveland team.

A lot depends on football smarts and leadership. The linebacker has to call signals for the defense, so the final evaluations will depend on what the Browns believe about these players from the neck up.

This fan’s guess is that Davis will probably go earlier than Collins. Speed trumps size today, and starring in the SEC edges starring in the AAC.