Colts 2015 Player Preview: Cornerback Vontae Davis

Despite Frank Gore's attempts to pry the number away from him this offseason, Colts cornerback Vontae Davis is keeping the number 21, the same number that former safety Bob Sanders used to wear.  And in many ways that's fitting, as Davis just completed the best season a member of the Colts secondary has had since Sanders played for the team, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2007.

In 2014, Davis was fantastic.  According to Pro Football Focus, no cornerback in the entire league had a better opposing passer rating, as opposing quarterbacks completed just 31 of 71 passes when throwing Davis' way for 405 yards, no touchdowns, and four interceptions - good for a passer rating of just 38.8.  For his play, PFF ranked him as the sixth-best player in the entire league in 2014.  He made his first career Pro Bowl and more than lived up to the 4-year, $36 million contract the Colts had given him last offseason.

There were doubts about that contract at the time, but one year later there are no doubts about Davis.  He enters 2015 as not only the Colts' top cornerback but also one of the top cornerbacks in the league and one of the most important players on the Colts' team.  They love to run press man coverage, an area in which Davis excels, and he is good enough to be left on an island with a receiver in order to enable the defense to send extra pressure or focus elsewhere -something that they desperately needed last year and which Davis provided the opportunity to do.

His spot on the roster is absolutely secure and without any doubt.  The trio of Vontae Davis, Greg Toler, and Darius Butler will once again be the top three cornerbacks for the Colts in 2015, and that trio should once again be a solid unit that is again one of the strengths of the team's defense.  We wouldn't be saying that, however, if it weren't for Davis and his elite level of play, and the hope is that he will keep it up in 2015.  There's plenty of reason to think that he will.