Coming home pays off as Hurricanes’ Davis is drafted by the Cardinals
Jaden Davis came back home to South Florida last year to play one season for the Miami Hurricanes, hoping he’d get a chance to display all he could do as a defensive back and why an NFL team should take a shot on him in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The cornerback’s decision paid off. The Arizona Cardinals selected the 5-foot-10, 187-pound cornerback with the No. 6 selection of the seventh round on Saturday — No. 226 overall — after a solid senior season in Coral Gables.
Davis, who spent his first four years of college at Oklahoma after picking the Sooners over Miami when he was coming out of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class of 2019, was the second Hurricane picked in the 2024 Draft, following safety Kamren Kinchens, who went to the Rams in the third round Friday.
At Oklahoma, Davis mostly played as an outside cornerback despite his undersized frame and started 22 of 47 games, nabbing one interception in his four seasons. With an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis took advantage of the opportunity to return home to Florida and play for Miami, where he got more opportunities playing in the slot and started 12 games as a versatile corner. He led all Hurricanes cornerbacks with 42 tackles, and had three tackles for loss, one sack and two forced fumbles, always playing bigger than his size when he got to be around the line of scrimmage. In coverage, Davis broke up four passes and became Miami’s most reliable coverage option in the secondary. While he wasn’t seriously thought to be on the draft radar going into this week, Davis was one of the most reliable defenders for the Hurricanes last year and has consistently made the most of his physical ability.
Davis was also the second former Raider to be picked in the NFL Draft, following outside linebacker Dallas Turner who went to the Vikings with the No. 17 overall pick in the first round Thursday.
