Cal Football: Conflicting Information Regarding Ashtyn Davis' NFL Draft Status

Mock NFL drafts are not optimistic, but stange things can happen on draft day

We still believe former Cal safety Ashtyn Davis will be taken in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft, despite what recent mock drafts from reputable sites suggest.

USA Today produced some disppointing projections regarding Davis and former teammate Evan Weaver and their NFL Draft status, and the NFL mock draft published by NFL.com a few days ago was even less optimistic.

The NFL.com mock draft included four rounds of projected picks, and Davis and Weaver were not included at all.

In Davis' case, this runs contrary to the rankings of NFL prospects published by Sports Illustrated recently. Davis was ranked as the 49th-best prospect in the draft by SI, which should put him somewhere in the second round.

Apparently there is concern among NFL clubs about Davis' health. He sat out the Senior Bowl following a minor posteason surgery that prevented Davis from playing in the Redbox Bowl. The surgery reportedly dealt with a groin injury that had bothered Davis during the 2019 season.

#Cal S Ashtyn Davis said he won’t be competing at the #SeniorBowl due to groin surgery. First opinion said no surgery needed, but after it kept bugging him he decided to get it done. Plan is to still be ready to workout at the Combine.

— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 21, 2020

Davis then opted -- wisely, I would say -- to forgo running a 40-yard dash or agility drills during the NFL Combine in late February, deciding to wait until Cal's Pro Day to show NFL scouts the speed that made him perhaps the fastest player on the Cal roster. It sounded lke a good idea since it allowed Davis to further recover from his surgery. Little did he know that the Cal Pro Day, scheduled for March 20, would be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

So now there are questions about Davis' health. You must remember there is a lot of false or misleading information floating around as NFL officials jockey for position and players as the April 23 NFL Draft nears. It only takes one team to look past the health issues, and I believe a team will recognize Davis' talents and take him by the third round. But that's just me.

“You know how fast he is because he’s a Pac-12 champion in the hurdles,” Cal defensive back Elijah Hicks said. “At the same time, you see how smart he is because he's making all kind of plays. We like to call it above-the-neck football."

As an aside, Tua Tagovailoa's agent, Leigh Steinberg (a Cal alum), has provided videos of his client's agility, and that seems to have helped the draft status of the former Alabama quarterback.

Practicing social distancing with the long ball today. Feels good to spin it again. #Process pic.twitter.com/BZnBF7Sfdc

— Tua. T 🇦🇸 (@Tua) March 24, 2020

Weaver's status in the NFL Draft remains uncertain. He is being pegged as a two-down linebacker, but it's hard to imagine him not being a productive NFL defender. 

He led the nation in tackles and was a first-team All-American, as noted in this video:

We still believe Weaver will be taken somewhere between the fourth and seventh rounds, but if he goes undrafted, some team is going to get a fired-up free agent.