The Washington Commanders have been busy building their roster through the undrafted free agent market, and one name generating quiet buzz is cornerback Fred Davis II out of Northwestern. But can this sixth-year senior carve out a role in defensive coordinator Daronte Jones' scheme?

Let's start with what makes Davis intriguing: his "click-and-close" ability. That's a scouting term for a defensive back who reads the play, processes it quickly, and attacks downhill with explosive acceleration to disrupt the offense. It's the kind of instinctive trait that can turn a raw prospect into a contributor on Sundays.

At 6-foot and 190 pounds, Davis has solid size for a boundary corner. His college journey, however, is anything but straightforward. After three seasons of rotational duty at Clemson, he transferred to UCF (where he saw just five snaps), then to Jacksonville State, before finally landing at Northwestern. There, he finally found consistent playing time as a sixth-year senior.

But here's where the red flags start to fly. Over his entire six-year college career, Davis recorded zero interceptions and zero forced fumbles. That's right—zero turnovers. His first career interception finally came at the Senior Bowl, a showcase that helped put him on scouts' radars.

His athletic testing didn't do him any favors either. While he has decent length and size, his Pro Day numbers were mostly pedestrian. The biggest concern? A 4.64-second forty-yard dash—a very poor speed grade for a cornerback at the NFL level. His Relative Athletic Score (RAS) came in at 5.60 out of 10.00, ranking him 1,352 out of 3,069 cornerbacks tested since 1987.

So why should Commanders fans care? Because Davis' game isn't about flashy stats or elite measurables. It's about that click-and-close instinct, the ability to read and react in tight spaces. In a league where undrafted corners have carved out long careers by being smart and scrappy, Davis has a path—if he can overcome his lack of speed and ball production.

For Washington, Davis is a low-risk, high-upside flier. He'll need to prove he can hang with NFL receivers, but if his instincts translate, he could surprise. Keep an eye on him in training camp—sometimes the best stories start with the longest odds.