Behind the Scenes: Isaiah Davis’ Draft Day journey to the New York Jets

I went behind the scenes at Jets rookie running back, Isaiah Davis’ draft day party.

In Detroit Michigan, at 12 PM EST on Saturday April 27th, 2024, day three of the NFL Draft officially kicked off and hundreds of draft hopefuls were waiting anxiously for their name to be called.

Almost 800 miles away on the top floor of an upscale bowling alley just outside of Kansas City, former South Dakota State Running Back Isaiah Davis, surrounded by the people who love him most, was waiting for his call.

The 2024 draft was hardly a banner year for backs, only three going during the first three rounds. The Arizona Cardinals selected Trey Benson from Florida State with the 66th pick. The Rams took Michigan star Blake Corum with the 83rd pick and with the 88th overall pick the Green Bay Packers picked MarShawn Lloyd. Draft analysts unanimously agreed the strength of this draft wasn’t at the running back position and the results of the first two days bore that out. But with day three kicking off, plenty of teams still had needs to fill and plenty of prospects were sitting, waiting and hoping to be given the opportunity to be what those teams needed.

In 2017 Davis, a Junior at Joplin High School, rushed for more than 1,600 yards and 28 touchdowns, leading Joplin to an 8-2 record. During his senior season Joplin rode Davis to 2,283 yards and 45 touchdowns and a state semifinals appearance, Joplin’s first appearance in the semifinals since 1984. For his efforts Davis won the 2019 Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year award. And despite the success, Davis found himself with just two offers to play college football. One offer coming from Missouri Southern State University, located in Joplin, the other coming from FCS South Dakota State.

Davis took his chances and moved away from home to South Dakota where he would go on to have an even more spectacular career than the one that came before it. The 6’ 220 pound back was dominant, leading the Jackrabits to back to back FCS national championships (their first in school history). He was named a co-winner of the Missouri Valley conference Offensive Player of the Year award and was named as an FCS All-American as a senior. Isaiah Davis accomplished everything he could with the opportunities he was given and his next opportunity, he believed, would be in the National Football League.

Back in Kansas City, the exclusive 8 lane bowling alley was decked out with photos and framed jerseys of Davis’ playing career from Joplin and SDSU. The TV’s were all tuned to ESPN and Mel Kiper’s voice boomed through the wall-mounted speakers. People piled plates with chicken wings and pizza and once there was nothing left to do but wait, they started bowling.

Over the sound of bowling balls rolling down hardwood lanes and pins crashing and falling onto themselves, loud cheers rang out when the Pittsburgh Steelers made their selection with the 119th overall pick, Isaiah’s SDSU teammate and friend, guard Mason McCormick’s name and picture flashed across the televisions.

With the 120th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the Miami Dolphins select Jaylen Wright, running back, Tennessee.

After a brief moment of celebration for a fellow Jackrabbit, family and friends went back to their games and tried their best to focus on bowling while keeping one eye on Mel Kiper Jr. and Rece Davis.

With the 125th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Bucky Irving, running back, Oregon.

Isaiah made his way around the room, talking to everyone that had come to support him. An aunt from Dallas arrived and wrapped him up in a bear hug. It felt like a family reunion, complete with group photos and catching up with each other. When he got to me, I introduced myself and explained that I had received an email from his agency, Wasserman, and that I was there to document the day. After we got acquainted, he told me he was feeling anxious.

“It’s like it’s a gameday when we play at 9. I’ve got to wait around all day. I just want it to be here.”

Naturally, I asked the question we all wanted to know, “who’s it gonna be?”

“There are four or five teams I think it might be, teams I feel good about that were really interested.”

While his answer wasn’t as juicy as I hoped it would be, it was the right answer to give me. Despite his anxiety, he seemed calm and confident. He was composed, more composed that I (a man in his late-30’s) might have been in a similar situation. If I had not asked how he was feeling, I wouldn’t have known he was anything other than happy to see all of the people that cared about him in one place. The pressure was there, but it never showed.

With the 127th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the Philadelphia Eagles select Will Shipley, running back, Clemson.

I let him get back to his guests where he finally settled on a couch just off of lane number 12 surrounded by his teammates and best friends from SDSU. Zay, as his family calls him, spent the rest of his afternoon with his friends.

He never touched a bowling ball.

With the 128th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the Buffalo Bills select Ray Davis, running back, Kentucky.

He sat, on his phone, checking texts and responding in between talking to his friends and laughing along with them. I noticed there was a run on running backs. Zay did too.

With the 129th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the San Francisco 49ers select Isaac Guerendo, running back, Louisville.

I talked to his dad Cedric Davis, who said he was feeling anxious but that he was okay. The pride he felt for his son was obvious “Everything he gave up to get here. From the way he eats, the way he works, to not going out with his friends, staying out late chasing girls, he didn’t do any of that. He’s a special kid.” Cedric didn’t say it, but the respect he has for his son who has made sacrifices that Cedric alluded that he himself didn’t make, is immense.

With the 132nd pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the Detroit Lions select Sione Vaki, running back, Utah.

I asked his mom, Brandi Davis, where she hoped he would get drafted. She told me that they go to all of his games so if it was somewhere close to their home in Joplin, that would make it easier but that it didn’t really matter, they would make the trip anywhere. She was just excited for Zay.

With the 134th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the New York Jets select Braelon Allen, running back, Wisconsin.

A few of Cedric’s friends from work, in Joplin, made the two hour trip north to support their friend and his son. Decked out in blue South Dakota State gear, they pumped me for information on where Zay was going to go. Disappointed by my lack of inside information, we talked ball and about their love of Andy Reid and the hometown Chiefs.

Cedric told me that if the Kansas City Chiefs drafted his son, that their home town would go crazy. That hometown, Joplin, Missouri, is what set the stage for Isaiah. When Isaiah was 9 years old, the Davis’ family home was ripped apart by an EF5 tornado, while they laid on the floor inside, protected by nothing more than a mattress. More than 150 people were killed in the disaster but the Davis’ were spared. His family and the community of Joplin, rebuilt around Isaiah while he was busy growing into a star.

With the 147th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the Denver Broncos select Audric Estime, running back, Notre Dame.

The odds have been stacked against Isaiah Davis before. Coming out of high school he only received offers from division two Missouri Southern State to play linebacker and FCS South Dakota State. He was a kid from a small town, with no FBS, division one offers. The odds of him making it here, to this place, on this day, were one in millions.

With the 165th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the Baltimore Ravens select Rasheen Ali, running back, Marshall.

Isaiah Davis shouldn’t be here.

With the 166th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the New York Giants select Tyrone Tracy Jr., running back, Purdue.

But he is here, at a bowling alley in suburban Kansas City. Surrounded by 40 to 50 of the people who have loved and supported him every step of the way. People who have seen him through unimaginable tragedy and celebrated by his side through unmatched glory. He’s here watching another run on running backs.

With the 167th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the Jacksonville Jaguars select Keilan Robinson, running back, Texas.

Most of us had been there waiting with him for nearly four hours. The anticipation coupled with anxiety of the unknown made those four hours drag on. Time is relative and the minutes were running slower while bowling pins clattered in the background and the unanswerable question in whispered tones of “what happens if he doesn’t get drafted at all” hung in the air.

Then at 3:48 PM Isaiah’s previously quiet phone, rang.

The wait, it seemed, was finally over.

Four hours felt like forever. But the wait for Isaiah and his family, this moment, has taken years. The blood, sweat and tears it took to get to this place aren’t something I had to go through. This moment wasn’t one I could fully identify with.

He is a rare person.

And this was a rare moment.

Zay hung up the phone and an explosion of cheers took over. He took a moment to celebrate with his family before everyone got quiet and turned, silently, to watch his name be called on ESPN.

With the 173rd pick of the 2024 NFL Draft the New York Jets select Isaiah Davis, running back, South Dakota State.

Within a minute of the pick being announced on ESPN people quickly began cleaning up. His mom shuffled out the door and down the stairs with a framed jersey. His dad was excitedly talking to everyone within arms distance. His friends broke out the first J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS chant of many that he will soon hear. But Zay was nowhere to be found in the chaos. He had slipped out of the crowded room and into an adjacent ballroom that had been decorated for a wedding reception later that night, where he would talk to the Jets and the New York Media.

Isaiah Davis is a rare person. But he is entering a league completely full of rare people. He overcame impossible odds to have his name called in the fifth round. But now, he finds himself facing the longest odds of his life. The Jets took running back Braelon Allen, a stylistically similar back, 39 picks before they took Davis.

I stood next to the door in the ballroom while Zay finished his Zoom call. A few of his friends had found their way into the room. One of them offering congratulations:

“From Missouri to S-D to New York, I’m proud of you!”

I let them have a moment together before I offered congratulations of my own and started asking some questions. He told me that he was relieved (even though I couldn’t really tell a difference) and he seemed, even in that moment of celebration, to understand the reality of the challenge in front of him.

“I gotta come in every day and just be the best version of myself and come in make the roster and earn my spot.”

It’s now seven months after the draft and Davis who is listed as RB3 on the Jets depth chart, is credited with 4 carries for 18 yards and 1 reception for 10 yards. Davis has also logged 3 tackles on special teams and has returned 7 kicks for 179 yards. The two backs in front of him on the depth chart, Breece Hall and fellow rookie Braelon Allen, are both high quality starting caliber backs who have received the lions share of the teams rushing attempts, understandably. Davis’ 4 attempts are fourth most on the team behind Hall, Allen and Aaron Rodgers’ 12 scrambles. Cracking that rotation is going to be tough to do and maybe impossible in year one. 10 games feels like a lot, but with any luck at all, this is just the start for Davis.

Isaiah Davis has climbed every mountain that has ever been put in front of him and he knows he’s at the ground floor of the biggest one yet. History tells us that most fifth round draft picks don’t make it. But, Isaiah Davis, shouldn’t have made it this far, he’s already an extreme outlier.

It would be silly to bet against him now.

This weekend keep an eye out during Jets kick returns for number 32. While I hope he doesn’t have a big return this weekend, I’d be pretty happy for the kid if he did.