The Brave News

by Diego Santizo, Sports Editor

Former St. John Bosco and Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis was selected 86th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft on Friday night.

Despite initially opting out of the 2020 season, he returned to Ohio State and finished the season as a unanimous All-American. Davis, a team captain in 2020, also earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors in his final two seasons as a Buckeye. He capped off his time at Ohio State by winning the 2020 Big Ten Conference Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year Award, becoming the first guard in program history to earn that accolade.

Davis put together an illustrious career with Ohio State, capping off his time in college with 24 straight starts in his final three seasons. He really excelled in his redshirt sophomore and junior seasons, earning First-Team All-American honors in 2019 and 2020 for his play at right guard. He is the fourth Buckeye to hear his name called in this year’s draft, following behind Chicago Bears Quarterback Justin Fields, New Orleans Saints Linebacker Pete Werner and Green Bay Packers Center Josh Myers.

Davis’ decorated college career wasn’t a surprise after he was the number one guard prospect in the nation out of high school for the 2017 class. A five-star recruit, Davis starred here at St. John Bosco High School and was a teammate of current NFL Quarterback Josh Rosen. His strong play along the offensive line helped St. John Bosco win 38 games in his final three seasons, including a 13-win season and a Division I CIF championship in 2016. Davis was named a U.S. Army All-American and the Los Angeles Times’ Southern California Player of the Year.

Davis is a physical tone-setter with the length, use of hands and anchor to excel in a diverse run scheme while setting a firm pocket in pass protection. He needs to shore up his footwork out of his stance and weight distribution to improve his ability to stay upright and locate defenders in space as a run-blocker, but he has the right demeanor and skill set to excel as a pass protector right away and hold his own as a run-blocker.

Many draft experts were surprised to see Davis still on the board in the third round and praised the Vikings for getting tremendous value with him at number 86. In fact, a glance at a trio of pre-draft big boards shows that Davis was among the highest-ranked guards in the draft class, with many experts expecting him to go earlier in the third round. The big board at CBS Sports had Davis as the number 42 overall player in the draft, while analytics website Pro Football Focus had Davis at number 61 overall. Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked Davis as the 63rd-best player in the draft.

Nonetheless, another Bosco alum is taking his talents to the NFL. Brave Nation wishes him the best of luck going forward!