Carlton Davis III (born December 31, 1996) is an American professional football cornerback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft.
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Early life
Davis attended Miami Norland Senior High School in Miami Gardens, Florida, where he played high school football. He originally committed to Ohio State University to play college football but changed his commitment to Auburn University.
College career
Davis was a starter as a true freshman at Auburn in 2015. He finished the season with 56 tackles and three interceptions. As a sophomore in 2016, he recorded 46 tackles. Davis finished the 2017 season with 36 tackles, 12 pass deflections, and one interception. On January 3, 2018, Davis declared his intentions to enter the 2018 NFL draft.
Professional career
Pre-draft
Davis attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of drills, but opted to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill. Davis finished eighth among all cornerbacks in the broad jump and bench press. On March 9, 2018, he participated at Auburn's pro day and performed the majority of drills, but elected to skip the bench press, vertical jump, and broad jump. Davis also improved his times in the 40-yard dash (4.44s), 20-yard dash (2.60s), and 10-yard dash (1.59s). At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Davis was projected to a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the sixth best cornerback prospect in the draft by Sports Illustrated, was ranked the eighth best cornerback by DraftScout.com, and was ranked as the ninth best cornerback in the draft by Scouts Inc.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Davis in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. Davis was the second cornerback drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018 after second round pick (53rd overall) M. J. Stewart and also was the ninth cornerback drafted. The Buccaneers acquired this pick during a trade where they sent their 2018 third round (56th overall) pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for a third round (63rd overall) and fourth round pick (117th overall). The Patriots went on to draft cornerback Duke Dawson while the Buccaneers used their selections on Carlton Davis and safety Jordan Whitehead, who both started in Super Bowl LV.
On May 24, 2018, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Davis to a four–year, $4.39 million contract that includes $2.43 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.27 million. Prior to the season-opener, Brent Grimes injured his groin during practice and Davis was subsequently inserted to the starting lineup in his place.
Throughout training camp, he competed to be a starting cornerback against M. J. Stewart, Vernon Hargreaves, and Ryan Smith. Head coach Dirk Koetter named Davis the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind starting cornerbacks Brent Grimes and Vernon Hargreaves.
On September 9, 2018, Davis made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start and recorded four combined tackles (three solo) during a 48–40 win against the New Orleans Saints. In Week 2, Davis recorded a season-high six solo tackles, made a pass deflection, and had his first career fumble recovery via a strip-sack by teammate Kwon Alexander on Nick Foles as the Buccaneers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27–21. He was inactive during a Week 655 loss at the Atlanta Falcons after injuring his groin. A knee injury caused him to miss two consecutive games (Weeks 13–14). In Week 16, he recorded two solo tackles and had his first career forced fumble during a 27–20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He finished his rookie season with 40 combined tackles (36 solo), four pass deflections, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in 13 games and 13 starts. On December 30, 2018, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired head coach Dirk Koetter after they finished the 2018 NFL season with a 5–11 record.
On January 8, 2019, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced the hiring of former Arizona Cardinals' head coach Bruce Arians as their new head coach. He entered training camp as a possibility to takeover projected to be the de facto No. 1 starting cornerback after the departure of Brent Grimes and was part of a cornerback group that included Vernon Hargreaves III, M. J. Stewart, Ryan Smith, rookie Sean Murphy-Bunting, and rookie Jamel Dean. New defensive coordinator Todd Bowles appointed Davis and Vernon Hargreaves as the starting cornerbacks to begin the season.
Detroit Lions
On March 13, 2024, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded Davis and two sixth-round picks to the Detroit Lions for a third-round pick (92nd overall, Jalen McMillan) in the 2024 NFL draft. On March 18, 2024, the Detroit Lions signed Davis to a one–year, $14.50 million contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $12.74 million. He entered training camp as the de facto No. 1 starting cornerback. Head coach Dan Campbell named Davis and Terrion Arnold the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season.
On September 8, 2024, Davis started in the Detroit Lions' home-opener against the Los Angeles Rams and set a season-high with ten combined tackles (six solo) during a 26–20 overtime victory. In Week 4, Davis recorded seven combined tackles (four solo), set a season-high with three pass deflections, and recovered a fumble as the Lions defeated the Seattle Seahawks 42–29. On November 10, 2024, he made four solo tackles, two pass deflections, and set a season-high with two interceptions on passes thrown by C. J. Stroud during a 23–26 victory at the Houston Texans. On November 24, 2024, Davis recorded one solo tackle before exiting during the fourth quarter of a 24–6 victory at the Indianapolis Colts due to a leg injury. He was subsequently inactive as the Lions defeated the Chicago Bears 23–20 in Week 13 due to a quadriceps injury. In Week 15, Davis recorded two solo tackles before he was assisted off the field early in the second quarter after he was injured while making a tackle on running back Ray Davis during the Lions 42–48 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Prior to the injury, Davis recorded two interceptions, 11 passes defended, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. On January 7, 2025, head coach Dan Campbell announced that Davis would miss the remainder of the season.
New England Patriots
On March 13, 2025, the New England Patriots signed Davis to a three–year, $60.00 million contract that includes $34.50 million guaranteed upon signing and an initial signing bonus of $16.00 million. He finished the 2025 season with 69 tackles (39 solo) and 10 pass deflections in 17 games and starts. He had six total tackles in Super Bowl LX, a 29–13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Controversies
On April 4, 2021, Davis tweeted the offensive Asian slur "gooks". When informed it meant an offensive term for Asian people, he proceeded to cite a section of the Urban Dictionary which states its use as also meaning lame in South Florida slang. The following day, he tweeted an apology and vowed not to use the term again.