Nine picks after selecting Baylor WR Denzel Mims with the No. 59 pick, the Jets turned to the defensive side of the ball and picked Cal S Ashtyn Davis in the third round, No. 68 overall, of the NFL Draft on Friday night.
Davis (6-0, 207) was a late bloomer growing up in Santa Cruz, CA, growing 8 inches and adding almost 75 pounds over his final three years at Santa Cruz HS. A former walk-on to both the football and track team, Davis played CB his freshman year in 2016 and won the Special Teams MVP Award.
He then made the move to FS in '17 and again earned the Special Teams Award while started in six games. In 49 games (33 starts) for the Bears, Davis totaled 171 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 3 FF, 19 PDs and 7 INTs. He earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors this past season and was a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, awarded to the nation's top former walk-on. Davis also returned kicks, averaging a career 22.9 yards per return and took one for an 89-yard score in 2018.
Davis was also a four-year member of Cal's track team and was a four-time All-American, qualifying for the NCAA Track & Field Championships in 2018. He finished 14th in the 110-meter hurdles (13.87). He also graduated with a double major in legal studies and social welfare.
The Jets acquired the 68th pick from the Giants in exchange for DL Leonard Williams this past October.
Davis is the seventh player taken by the Jets out of California all-time, the first since WR Chad Hansen in Round 4 in 2017, and the highest since another WR of note, Jets Ring of Honor member Wesley Walker, taken in the second round, 33rd overall, in 1977.
The Jets have had a good run with the 68th selection of the draft. In the '66 AFL Draft they went with TE Pete Lammons out of Texas. He started all but one game in his six Jets seasons, including Super Bowl III. Then came LB Richard Wood out of Southern Cal in 1975, CB Donald Dykes from Southeastern Louisiana in '79, and T Siupeli "Soupy" Malamala from Washington in '92. Their most recent 68 didn't last as long — edge Jachai Polite out of Florida last year, a final cut in September.
