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Vontae Davis Could Shadow Opposing Team’s Best Receiver

By Luke Schultheis

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Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano indicated that his team could change how they choose to deploy shutdown cornerback Vontae Davis defensively this season.

Instead of lining him up almost exclusively on the right side of the Colts defense, Pagano hinted that Davis could now shadow the opposing team’s best receiver all over the field (via Indy Sports Central’s Mike Chappell):

"“We’ve got to be able to do whatever we want to do with him,’’ Pagano said. “If that means putting him on somebody’s best wide receiver instead of just playing one side of the (field), then maybe that’s the next progression. We’ll see.’’"

Of course, the Colts already tinkered with this idea in the AFC Championship game, where Davis defended the New England Patriots best receiver in tight end Rob Gronkowski near the goal line on the left side. It’s worth noting that Davis was ultimately successful, as it led to a pass break-up on that particular play.

It’s not an unprecedented idea either, as many of the league’s elite cornerbacks like the New York Jets Darrelle Revis and Arizona Cardinals Patrick Peterson typically shadow opposing team’s best receivers all of the time. Really, the Seattle Seahawks Richard Sherman is the only other shutdown cornerback who comes to mind that plays predominantly on one side.

No disrespect to Greg Toler, but Davis against the other team’s best receiver is almost always a much better matchup. If it doesn’t take Davis out of his comfort zone and negatively impact his high-level play, then it’s really a no brainer transition on the Colts end.

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