Carlton Davis believes be's the top corner in this year's NFL Draft and hopes to prove it at the NFL Combine.
The former Auburn cornerback is aiming to run the 40-yard dash in the 4.3-4.4 seconds range, jump 10-feet-5-inches or better in the broad jump and 35 inches or higher in the vertical jump.
Those figures would help Davis as he competes against a talented cornerback class that includes Ohio State's Denzel Ward, Iowa's Josh Jackson, LSU's Donte Jackson, Louisville' Jaire Alexander, UCF's Mike Hughes and North Carolina's M.J. Stewart among many others.
"I think I'm the top corner in this draft," said Davis, who had 36 tackles with 11 pass breakups, an interception and fumble recovery en route to being a second-team All-American last season. "I can't control other people's opinions and mock drafts, it's not up to me. I can just control what I do here at the Combine, in the interviews and so on."
Walter Football has Davis going in the first round, NFLDraftScout.com has him as a first or second round pick and DraftAnalyst.com, NFL Network's Mike Mayock and ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has him in the second round.
Davis measured in at 6-foot-1 and 206 pounds with 32-3/4-inch arms and a 78-3/8-inch wingspan, which are exceptionally long for cornerbacks and allow him to be a disruptive in press coverage even with hands that measured 8-1/2 and 8-7/8 inches, on the smaller end for defensive backs.
He said he had formal meetings with the Steelers, Rams, Raiders, Seahawks and Redskins and informals with the Cowboys, Colts, Ravens and Bears, among others.
While Davis is comfortable playing in zone or off his receiver, he played a lot of press man at Auburn and said it's "a mental game" when you're lined up so close to receivers.
"You have little room for error," he said. "One false step can have you beat and not being sound in your technique can have you beat. It's more of a mental thing and knowing a route tree and knowing tendencies and releases. When you're playing press man you have to do a lot of film study and it's more mental than physical. ...
"I feel like when you play a lot of press man and your back's to the quarterback the receiver often uses their hands for separation and stuff like that. I kind of get tangled up in that separation part. At times it could be a battle and at times when you play a lot of press man you get a lot of back shoulders. I try my best to compete and sometimes I would get a little bit handsy just being physical in that fight at the top of the route."
While Davis said Calvin Ridley was the most and "most polished" receiver he faced, Clemson wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud and Missouri's J'Mon Moore each said going against Davis was their toughest matchup last season.
"He was a bigger corner," McCloud said. "Definitely experienced. We had a great matchup (in 2016) with Mike Williams. I knew I had to come to play."
Moore said Auburn's secondary knocked off Missouri's timing in the lopsided matchup last season.
"Every time somebody asked me about what corners I think were the best I always talk about (Auburn's) because they had great size," Moore said. "Great-sized corners, physical, with the speed of the game and the way that they played, they got a unique way of playing."
Davis said he decided to sit out the Peach Bowl due to a sinus infection he started having during the holiday break.
"When I was home I had a sinus infection and I was really clogged up and I was taking antibiotics," he said. "I thought going up there being around that football atmosphere would help settle me down but it kind of made it worse. ... I didn't feel like I was ready to go out there and compete at a high level."
James Crepea is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @JamesCrepea.