The New England Patriots made a lot of good signings on the first day of the legal tampering period of NFL free agency, and one of the best additions was Carlton Davis.
The veteran cornerback agreed to sign a three-year, $60 million contract, including $34.5 million guaranteed, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
The Patriots now have two very good cornerbacks in Davis and 2023 first-round pick Christian Gonzalez, who was named second team All-Pro last season.
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Davis is well-respected around the league. In fact, former Patriots safety and current NBC Sports analyst Devin McCourty asked Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase in a 2023 interview to name the best defensive back he's played against.
The league's top wideout thought about it, and then explained why it's Davis.
“For me, I’d say Carlton Davis," Chase said (full interview below). "Only reason I say Carlton Davis is because he was longer than I expected, longer arms, and he ain’t got no knee bend — he just hunched his back over and played defense. I think I’ve played him twice, and he made some good plays on me, so I ain’t gonna forget that one."
Davis allowed a 45.2 percent completion rate in man coverage last season, which was the fourth-best rate among all cornerbacks who played at least 30 man-to-man snaps, per Next Gen Stats.
And according to Pro Football Focus, Davis has 86 forced incompletions since 2019, which is 11 more than any cornerback during that span.
Davis spent the first six seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a run that included a Super Bowl LV title in the 2020 campaign. He was traded to the Detroit Lions before last season and played well, tallying 56 total tackles, two interceptions, 11 pass breakups and two fumble recoveries in 13 games.
The Patriots' new defensive coordinator, Terrell Williams, was the defensive line coach for the Lions last season, so he knows what Davis can do in the secondary.
Davis' ability to defend the league's top wide receivers is a huge bonus for the Patriots. His championship-winning experience and swagger are good additions, too.
