New York Giants select DL D.J. Davidson from Arizona State
Apr 30, 2022, 11:30 AM
Defensive lineman D.J. Davidson #98 of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts after a defensive stop against running back Elijah Dotson #33 of the Sacramento State Hornets during the first half of the NCAAF game at Sun Devil Stadium on September 06, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The third Arizona State Sun Devil taken in the 2022 NFL Draft was defensive lineman D.J. Davidson.
The New York Giants took the nose tackle with the No. 147 overall pick in the fifth round on Saturday.
Davidson, a Mesa native, played 37 games for ASU over four seasons after committing from Desert Ridge High School.
The 6-foot-3, 327-pound lineman started 12 games last season and recorded 6.5 tackles for loss. He earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 second-team as one of the conference’s top run stuffers.
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He also had four pass defenses and a fumble recovery while finishing fifth on the team with 57 total tackles.
The first Sun Devil off the board was running back Rachaad White in the third round, followed by cornerback Jack Jones in the fourth.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took White, and the New England Patriots selected Jones.
NFL Network draft analyst Lance Zierlein went over Davidson’s pros and cons at the next level:
Gap-stuffing nose tackle who plays with good strength to disrupt blocking from guard to guard. Davidson is an early-down run defender only, but he can be a handful to get blocked on those downs. He plays on a bulky, powerful base that helps absorb double teams with relative success and he has the upper-body strength to beat a single block.
