Steelers Camp Countdown: Sean Davis’ third year could be a charm

by Christina "Tina" Rivers (3Rivers_Writer) on July 11, 2018

Steelers Camp Countdown is an article series aimed at preparing fans for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2018 training camp by focusing on players who will see competition at their position or players who may see action in a new role during the upcoming season.

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Sean Davis	21
Position	Safety
Date of birth	October 23, 1993 (age 23)
Place of birth	Washington, D.C.
Height	6-1
Weight	201
High school	Washington (DC) Maret
College	Maryland
NFL Draft	2016 / Round 2 / Pick 58
Experience	3rd Year

The Steelers will enter training camp with a revamped corps of players at the safety position, a sign that Keith Butler and Mike Tomlin may use more of a hybrid 5-1 type defense in 2018. Sean Davis is entering his third year with the franchise, but during the offseason, Pittsburgh offloaded Mike Mitchell, Robert Golden (now with the Kansas City Chiefs) and J.J. Wilcox (now with the New York Jets). The Steelers drafted Terrell Edmunds (Virginia Tech) and Marcus Allen (Penn State); they also signed veteran free agents Morgan Burnett and Nat Berhe. Malik Golden and Jordan Dangerfield have very limited NFL experience which should make both the free and strong safety positional battle one to watch at training camp in Latrobe (PA) later in July.

As a rookie, Davis was thrust into a starting role after playing the nickel position due to injuries to Senquez Golden and Artie Burns, but once Burns recovered from an injury he transitioned to the slot. It didn’t take long before Davis was moved to the strong safety position over Golden (Robert).

In 2o17, Davis led the team (tied with Ryan Shazier) with three interceptions for 76 return yards (25.3 yards per INT), with his longest going for 41 yards. He also recorded 92 tackles (71 solo), one sack, eight passes defensed and a forced fumble.

After requiring shoulder surgery, Davis spoke to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

Sean Davis is anticipating a potential move to free safety in the Steelers defense, I'm told. Prepared for either spot. Rigorously training this offseason after slowed by labrum surgery last spring.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 4, 2018

Davis didn’t appear to have a complete sophomore slump and his third year should take him from raw talent to the next level. He’ll need to use camp to develop into more than just a hard hitter, however. His improvement should be assisted by Burnett and Berhe being able to practice side-by-side with Davis as he works on center-field skills. To step into the free safety role, Davis will be asked to improve his reads on opposing offenses and keep receivers from getting separation.

The camp competition at both the free and strong safety positions will also be intriguing as Edmunds and Allen vie for roster spots over Dangerfield and Golden (Malik). The Steelers boosted their defensive backfield and it should bode well for them if everyone stays healthy and picks up their assignments.