Detroit Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis has received praise from NFL scouting legend Gil Brandt as he enters his second season in the NFL. However, some are worried that he is trending to be a bust, as pointed out by our own Bryce Rossler. Rossler writes that while it’s too soon to call Davis a bust, there was plenty in his rookie season that should have Lions fans concerned.

There are valid concerns that range from Davis looking like a dog chasing cars at times to his deficiencies in coverage. There are issues in Davis’ game and he needs to improve in multiple areas if he is going to become an NFL player worthy of his first-round selection. However, it was Year 1 and Davis was thrown into the fire with very little help around him.

Davis was asked to play in the middle of the Lions 4-3 defense and that’s a tough task for a rookie. In a 4-3 scheme, the MIKE linebacker has to cover a lot of ground and needs to be very sound with his instincts. There were moments when Davis struggled with the amount of space for which he was responsible.

It is easy to watch film of Davis as a rookie and see him get himself into trouble by running into a gap already occupied by a Lions defensive lineman. How much of that was on Davis and how much was on the defensive lineman? There looked to be confusion as to where the defenders were supposed to be, and at times Davis’ aggressive nature hurt him.

However, there were times when the defensive lineman in front of Davis was blown out of his gap and into Davis’ lap as he attacked coming forward. The Lions defensive line did Davis no favors last year, and it is one of the reasons for optimism going forward as that will change in a significant way.