Name: Daviyon Nixon 

School: Iowa 

Year:  Redshirt Junior 

Position: Defensive lineman 

Measurements:  6’3 305 

STATS:

General Info:

Born 12/13/1998. From Kenosha, Wisconsin. Born with a learning disability. Attended Indian Trail high school. Played offensive tackle and defensive end in high school. Played varsity all four years. Played basketball all four years as well. Had 6 sacks and four forced fumbles as a high school senior. First team all-state and all conference as a senior. JUCO transfer from Iowa Western Community College after not getting admitted to Iowa (probably due to his learning disability).  5 sacks and 9 tackles for a loss in his one year at Iowa Western. Redshirted in 2018 when he first came to Iowa. Played in all 13 games in 2019 with one start. Put up 3 sacks and 5.5 tackles for a loss in 2019. Had five tackles and two sacks against Northwestern in 2019 as a backup. In 2020 he started all eight games. Recorded 45 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, and 13.5 tackles for a loss with one forced fumble and one pass break up. Also had one interception that he returned 71 yards for a TD against Penn State. Career high 11 tackles against Northwestern. Big 10 defensive player of the year. Played predominately 3-tech in Iowa's 4-3 but did see some snaps as a 5 tech with the defensive end standing up like a 3-4 linebacker. 

Positional Skills:

Positives: Nixon shows quickness to penetrate into the back field. He has long arms which helps free him from blockers. The defensive lineman shows strong hands when disengaging. He did play varsity basketball all four years of high school; which shows him to be a good overall athlete. Nixon has a good rip move that gets him past the offensive lineman and into the backfield. The quick penetrator plays hard. By example he keeps his feet moving. He even has a decent head fake to trick the blocker into setting one way and Nixon goes the other. Daviyon knows how to get skinny, so he can get past blockers and shoot gaps into the backfield. He is a good tackler; he has good form and rarely misses. Generally, he does a good job at finding the ball in the backfield. Nixon also shows a decent hands swipe in his pass rush repertoire. 

Negatives: The one-year starter is obviously raw, he only played two years at Iowa and only one of those as a starter in a shortened 2020 season. Nixon is not stout enough to play the 1-tech or nose tackle position. He is also not a pocket pusher because he lacks the lower body strength to bully blockers. Double teams can neutralize the former Kenosha product. He also has trouble disengaging from offensive linemen once they can get their hands on him. Nixon needs to develop counter moves once his first move doesn’t work. Offensive linemen can use his aggressiveness against him and get him turned and pushed out of the play. Daviyon is not a big hitter, you don’t see him blow up running backs or quarterbacks in the backfield. His hand swipe could use some more work; it could be quicker. The former Iowa defensive lineman could also stand to add some bulk to his lower body. This would help him hold his ground against blockers in the run game. 

Fit with the Packers:

He could definitely fit in next to Kenny Clark. Nixon is obviously a bit raw having only been a one-year starter at Iowa. So, he may not start as a rookie with his lack of experience. He would be probably the 2nd most talented DL on the roster after Clark though. He could really open things up for Clark and the linebackers. He’s a penetrator, he’s not going to go out there and destroy double teams. That’s just not his game. If he added some strength/bulk to his lower body that would help him contribute more in the run game. Daviyon would also make it difficult for teams to double Clark; Thus, allowing the Packers to bring more consistent pressure up the middle as well as the outside. The Packers also have an affinity for Iowa players. The front office seems to like how they are coached and taught by Ferentz and his staff. He has pro bowl potential. He is a borderline 1^st rounder but will probably end up in the 2^nd.