In football, he played mostly wide receiver as sophomore and junior, helping lead the team to its 14th playoff appearance in the last 16 years with a 7–5 record.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Davis was projected to be a third round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts.

[11] Head coach Rex Ryan named Davis the third-string backup weakside linebacker to start the regular season, behind Bart Scott and Josh Mauga.

[14] On September 23, 2012, Davis made his first career tackle during a one-yard punt return by Marcus Thigpen in the first quarter of a 23–20 overtime victory at the Miami Dolphins in Week 3.

[16] On October 21, 2012, Davis earned his first career start in place of Bart Scott and recorded a season-high seven combined tackles during a 29–26 loss at the New England Patriots in Week 7.

[19] Head coach Rex Ryan named Davis and David Harris the starting inside linebackers to begin the regular season in 2013.

[21] He intercepted a pass thrown by quarterback Drew Brees that was originally intended for Benjamin Watson and was tackled for no gain in the first quarter.

[24] On September 14, 2014, Davis recorded six combined tackles and sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers twice in the Jets' 31–24 loss at the Green Bay Packers in Week 2.

[27] Head coach Todd Bowles chose to retain the Jets' starting linebackers and officially named Davis, Harris, Coples, and Pace the starters to begin the regular season.

[30] Davis became an unrestricted free agent after the 2015 season and reportedly received interest with multiple teams, including the Cleveland Browns.

[34] He made his Cleveland Browns' regular season debut in their season-opener at the Eagles and recorded seven combined tackles in their 29–10 loss.

[35] In Week 10, Davis recorded three combined tackles and sacked quarterback Joe Flacco during a 28–7 loss at the Baltimore Ravens.

[35] On December 18, 2016, Davis collected a season-high tying ten combined tackles (eight solo) in the Browns' 33–13 loss at the Bills in Week 15.

They also acquired Jamie Collins from the New England Patriots and had Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert develop into viable starters.

[37] He entered training camp slated as a starting inside linebacker, but saw competition from Bruce Carter, Julian Stanford, Spencer Paysinger, Frank Beltre, and Connor Harris.

[38] Head coach Todd Bowles named Davis and Darron Lee the starting inside linebackers to begin the regular season.

[39] He started in the Jets' season-opener at the Bills and collected a season-high 14 combined tackles (eight solo) and was credited for half a sack in their 21–12 loss.

In Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers, Davis recorded a team high 12 tackles and sacked Nick Mullens once during the 27–13 win.

[60] Davis missed the first game of his career due to injury in week 4, with a hamstring malady causing him to be absent from a matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.