Ashtyn Davis was born on October 10, 1996, he is an American football safety for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL).
He played college football at California, where he was also a hurdler, and was drafted by the Jets in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Davis originally joined California’s track and field team as a walk-on and only joined the football team after a tryout in the spring of his freshman year. In the second half of his redshirt sophomore year, Davis worked his way up the depth chart to become the starting safety alongside Jaylinn Hawkins.
As a redshirt junior, Davis made 56 tackles with five passes broken up and four interceptions while also returning 24 kicks for 629 yards and a touchdown and was named first-team All-Pac-12 Conference by the Associated Press, Athlon Sports, and Pro Football Focus and honorable mention by the conference’s coaches.
Davis entered his senior year on the watch list for the Paul Hornung Award and was rated the third-best safety prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper.
Davis was named a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy. In the season finale against UCLA, Davis tied his single-game high in tackles with 8, including the last tackle of the game as part of a goal-line stand.
In track and field as a senior, Davis won the Pac-12 110-meter hurdle title and was named second-team All-American. Davis was also named an NCAA Indoor All-American in the 60-meter hurdles.
Davis was selected by the New York Jets with the 68th overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Jets previously traded defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the New York Giants to obtain the pick.
In Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Davis led the team with 12 tackles and recovered a fumble forced by teammate Marcus Maye on wide receiver Keenan Allen at the goal line during the 34–28 loss.
He was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2020. On September 1, 2021, Davis was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on October 2.