2024 NFL Draft Profile: Davon Ferguson, CB, Bowling Green

Davon Ferguson’s football career is one of many destinations.

It started at Hartnell College in California in 2017, and Ferguson immediately thrived at the JUCO level to earn a spot in the FBS ranks. He spent his next three years in the Big 12, recording 89 tackles and an interception for the Kansas Jayhawks. Then in 2021, Ferguson relocated to Bowling Green where he instantly earned a starting role and enjoyed his most successful seasons. The cornerback generated 126 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and 10 pass breakups as a starter in the MAC, operating as one of the conference’s best at the position. He manned a Bowling Green secondary which ranked ninth nationally in pass defense in 2021 and 12th in 2023 — a pass defense which took a notable dip in 2022 when Ferguson only played two games due to a season-ending lower body injury.

Ferguson recovered tremendously from that injury and was one of 15 semifinalists for Comeback Player of the Year. To wrap up his final campaign as a seventh-year senior in 2023, Ferguson was honored with a third-team All-MAC selection, recognizing a season where he set personal bests in sacks, interceptions, and pass breakups.

After three different stops in college, Ferguson only seeks one more destination for the rest of his playing career — the NFL.

While Ferguson was not invited to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, he still showcased his skills in front of NFL scouts at Bowling Green’s Pro Day in March. Kent Lee Platte is the creator of an often-utilized NFL Draft metric known as Relative Athletic Score (RAS), and Ferguson scored a 3.87 based on his grades compared to other cornerbacks, based on his Pro Day performance.

Kent Lee Platte | https://ras.football

Ferguson earned his highest grades at Pro Day in the explosiveness category, posting a 38-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot, 5-inch broad jump. Possessing such hops is an integral for a cornerback his size, allowing him to generate more deflections and remain in play for jump balls against taller receivers.

The cornerback also shined in the strength category with 17 bench press reps of 225 pounds, which dominates the output of most others at the position. Bowling Green utilized Ferguson’s strength as an asset for the defense, often sending the capable tackler on blitzes or assigning him to invade the backfield. Ferguson’s success behind the line of scrimmage translated incredibly well to the stat sheet, producing 2.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss in 2021 and 2.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2023.

He plays with maximum aggressiveness when defending the run, firing himself at ball carriers like a missile in the backfield. His ability to pinball off of blockers and make complete solo tackles on a consistent basis could make him an attractive pickup this spring.

Ferguson had a number of standout performances at Bowling Green, ranging from his 17-tackle showing at Northern Illinois in 2021 to his two-interception game at Buffalo last season. But the pressure he applied in the backfield of the 2021 Minnesota game certainly ranks near his top outings, and he produced two pivotal sacks that day to spur a 14-10 defensive-led upset over the Golden Gophers — a game Bowling Green entered as 30.5-point underdogs.

The cornerback didn’t finish his college career with an eye-opening interception total, collecting just three picks in six FBS seasons. But Ferguson proved to have solid ball tracking ability, and he utilized that skill to deflect a combined 10 passes during his last two full seasons at Bowling Green (2021 and 2023).

There are elements of Ferguson’s game he’ll need to hone at the NFL level, including speed and agility. Rather than playing on the boundary — where he mainly operated at Bowling Green — his expertise as a backfield menace with remarkable explosiveness is better suited for a nickelback role in the pros.

Ferguson is a projected seventh-round pick or priority undrafted free agent. He seeks to extend Bowling Green’s streak to two consecutive drafts with a player selected after Karl Brooks landed in the sixth round to the Green Bay Packers last April.