Hintz: McCaffrey injury a good time to find a 'running' mate for the future; Davis ready

When Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey went down with an ankle injury in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Sunday, alarms sounded, loudly.

Who would step in for the All-Pro back?? But before that even became a problem, Panthers head coach Matt Rhule had a name that hung in the back of his mind of a guy that would step in, if there ever came a time McCaffrey couldn’t go.

Mike Davis.

He's a guy running backs coach Jeff Nixon "stood on tables for" when free agency hit and the team started preparing for the NFL Draft.

“From Day One, Jeff said to me ‘I think he’s a great complement to Christian if anything ever happens,' ” Rhule said. “He’s a starting running back and he can play at this level.”

Nixon, who has been with Miami, San Francisco and Philadelphia, saw a skill-set early with Davis who was kind of an afterthought with last season’s staff when he was picked up after being cut by Chicago in November.

“He’s a powerful back, he’s big, he can run with speed and power, he has great rush skills and he can catch the ball out of the backfield,” Rhule said. “So all the things we ask a back to do, he can do all of them.”

But he’s still not CMC, right? Right. But that’s not who Davis is worried about being when he steps on the field Sunday in Los Angeles.

“Just be me. Don’t try to be someone else,” Davis said. “Play how I’ve played, prepare how I prepare and just play angry.”

Since being drafted in 2015, he only has ten career starts including six for Seattle in 2017, when he rushed for 240 yards on 68 carries and caught 15 passes for 131 yards. His most productive season came in 2018 as a backup for the Seahawks where he rushed for 514 yards and four touchdowns and caught 34 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown.

The numbers are pedestrian, but it’s what came during his time while on the practice squad in Seattle that provided him the biggest lesson that has now gotten him here.

“It was real depressing. There was times where I was like ‘I don’t want to do this no more’, but I never quit and it fueled me,” Davis said. “Being on the practice squad going against the 1’s, I took it as a game for me everyday. It was a challenge and it helped me out a lot going through those things.”

So five years in the league and not a whole lot of production to show for it. But he learned running from that challenge won’t pay off either. And he doesn’t have to look far to know that, as his brother James Davis had a short stint in the NFL plagued with injuries and bad decisions.

“He was in Washington, not getting a lot of reps and he just ended up and left. And it didn’t turn out good for him,” he said. “My brother was very talented and he should’ve had more years than he had. So I know a couple bad decisions could lead to short career in NFL.”

With McCaffrey being put on injured reserve, that means he will miss at least three games. Of course, the timetable for a high ankle sprain is 4-6 weeks. Either way, Davis knows he has three games to make the most of an opportunity. An opportunity that I believe will go both ways – if he can prove some production out of the backfield.

In the last three years between McCaffrey and the departed Cam Newton, the pair made up for nearly 70 percent of the Panthers’ rushing yards. And Carolina still wasn’t walking away with division championships. While new quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will have more pressure to produce through the air and on the ground in McCaffrey’s absence, this is the perfect opportunity for the Panthers run game to grow to another level.

Taking a look around the league, it’s the two-headed monsters out of the backfield – Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in Cleveland, Mark Ingram and JK Dobbins in Baltimore, Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray in New Orleans – who are punishing defenses.

Does McCaffrey and Davis have the same dynamic ring to it? Well, we’re not sure yet. But in order for this offense to be more than one-dimensional on the ground, McCaffrey needs a running mate. And we’ll find out soon enough if the short in stature, but big bodied Davis, can pull some weight while the All-Pro is away. And maybe, just maybe they’ll find just the complement CMC needs when he returns.