Carlton Davis III (born December 31, 1996) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He played
college football at
Auburn and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the second round of the
2018 NFL Draft.
Early years
Davis attended
Miami Norland Senior High School in
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its w ...
, where he played
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
. He originally committed to
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
to play college football but changed his commitment to
Auburn University.
College career
Davis was a starter as a true freshman at Auburn in 2015. He finished the season with 56 tackles and three
interceptions. As a sophomore in 2016, he recorded 46 tackles. Davis finished the 2017 season with 36 tackles, 12 pass deflections, and one interception. On January 3, 2018, Davis declared his intentions to enter the
2018 NFL Draft.
Professional career
Davis attended the
NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...
in
Indianapolis and completed the majority of drills, but opted to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill. Davis finished eighth among all cornerbacks in the broad jump and bench press. On March 9, 2018, Davis participated at Auburn's pro day and performed the majority of drills, but elected to skip the bench press, vertical jump, and broad jump. Davis also improved his times in the 40-yard dash (4.44s), 20-yard dash (2.60s), and 10-yard dash (1.59s). At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Davis was projected to a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the sixth best cornerback prospect in the draft by
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
, was ranked the eighth best cornerback by DraftScout.com, and was ranked as the ninth best cornerback in the draft by
Scouts Inc.
The
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
selected Davis in the second round with the 63rd overall pick in the
2018 NFL Draft. Davis was the ninth cornerback drafted in 2018.
On May 24, 2018, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Davis to a four-year,
$4.39 million contract that includes $2.43 million guaranteed and a
signing bonus of $1.27 million.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2018 season
Davis made his professional debut in Week 1 during a 48–40 win against the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
in which he had four tackles. In Week 2, during a 27–21 win against the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
, Davis recorded six tackles, a pass deflection, and his first career fumble recovery via a strip-sack by teammate
Kwon Alexander
Kwon Alexander (born August 3, 1994) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at LSU. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Alexander has also played for ...
on
Nick Foles
Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona and was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL D ...
. In Week 16, during a 27–20 loss to the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
, Davis recorded two tackles and his first career forced fumble.
Davis finished his rookie season with 40 tackles, four pass deflections, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
2019 season
In Week 1, during a 31–17 loss to the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, Davis recorded tackles and his second career fumble recovery. In Week 2, during a 20–14 win against the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
, Davis recorded seven tackles and two pass deflections. In Week 4, during a 55–40 win against the
Los Angeles Rams, Davis recorded eight tackles. In Week 12, during a 35–22 win against the
Atlanta Falcons, Davis recorded five tackles, five pass deflections, and his first career interception on
Matt Ryan.
Davis finished his second professional season with 60 tackles, 19 pass deflections, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one interception.
2020 season
On April 8, 2020, Davis announced that he would be changing his jersey number from 33 to 24 in honor of the late
Kobe Bryant.
In Week 1 against the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, Davis, guarding the 2019
NFL Offensive Player of the Year and First-team
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
,
Michael Thomas, Davis was targeted 19 times, only allowing two catches and no touchdowns. Later that year, Davis contributed to holding Thomas to zero catches in the
Divisional Round Game of the NFL Playoffs in
on January 17, 2021,
In Week 2 against the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
, Davis recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by
Teddy Bridgewater
Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL).
Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school ...
during the 31–17 win.
In Week 4 against the
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
, Davis recorded an interception off a pass thrown by
Justin Herbert late in the fourth quarter to secure a 38–31 Bucs’ win.
In the following week's game against the
Chicago Bears, on ''Thursday Night Football'', Davis recorded another interception, this time off a pass thrown by
Nick Foles
Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona and was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL D ...
, during the 20–19 loss. Overall, Davis finished the 2020 season with 68 total tackles, four interceptions, and 18 passes defended in 14 games. Davis played in all four games in the Buccaneers' playoff run that resulted in the team winning
Super Bowl LV.
2021 season
Davis entered the 2021 season as a starting cornerback for the Buccaneers. He suffered a quad injury in Week 4 and was placed on injured reserve on October 7, 2021. He was activated on December 3.
2022 season
Davis re-signed with the Buccaneers on a three-year, $45 million contract on March 16, 2022.
Davis recorded his first interception of the season against the Bengals in a 34-23 loss.
Controversies
On April 4, 2021, Davis went on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and tweeted an offensive Asian slur. When informed it meant an offensive term for Asian people, he proceeded to cite a section of the
Urban Dictionary
''Urban Dictionary'' is a crowdsourced English-language online dictionary for slang words and phrases. The website was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham. Originally, ''Urban Dictionary'' was intended as a dictionary of slang or cultural words ...
which states its use as also meaning lame in
South Florida slang. It wasn't until the following day that he tweeted an apology and vowed not to use the term again.
NFL career statistics
References
External links
Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Carlton
1996 births
Living people
Miami Norland Senior High School alumni
Players of American football from Miami
American football cornerbacks
Auburn Tigers football players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players