Wonder what it’s like to play in the NFL? From being on the 1-16 Jaguars to the #1 seed Packers Tyler Davis has seen it all in his first four years in the National Football League.
Tyler Davis has an incredible story from growing up on Long Island and going on to play college ball for UConn and Georgia Tech before getting drafted by Jacksonville in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL draft (yes, the COVID year).
He then played for the 1-16 Jaguars under Doug Marrone, and then was in camp the next year with Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow (he has some good stories on the pod) before getting cut by Meyer and ending up on the Green Bay Packers catching passes from Aaron Rodgers.
He was poised for his best year yet in 2023 catching a TD in the first pre-season game against Cincinatti only to tear his ACL and be out for the season minutes later. He’s been working everyday since to comeback strong in 2024.
If your interested in learning what it’s like to play in the NFL and hear a lot of amazing behind the scenes stories about the Green Bay Packers make sure to tune into this episode.
Milwaukee Uncut is produced by Story Mark Studios
In partnership with OnMilwaukee
Sponsored by Central Standard and Nicolet Law
Transcript
Tyler Davis: Like I said, I grew up a huge Tim Tebow fan myself. And then I go from that to in the tight end meeting room. I’m, I sit here, he literally sits right there. And he’s nudging me, asking me questions. Aaron Rodgers is about to throw me a ball. I’m like, holy crap, this is freaking awesome. Everyone’s just getting easy throws, all this stuff.
And I get a ball launched. And then I come back to the huddle. I’m like, everyone’s laughing. And I’m like, what’s everybody laughing at?
Richie Burke: Hey everyone, it’s your host Richie Burke and welcome back to Milwaukee Uncut. There’s been a lot of news out of Green Bay recently and we’ve got a good one today with recently re signed Packers tight end number 84 Tyler Davis.
He’s had a very interesting journey from growing up on Long Island, playing for UConn and Georgia Tech. NFL career on the one in being in camp with urban If you remember that sag it and he’s got some good He then ended up in Green for the last three years. time was there through th He caught a touchdown.
He was looking good in that first preseason game against Cincinnati. Then unfortunately tore his ACL in that same game shortly after that, and was out for the season, spent his time in rehab, but recently got re signed. He’s been progressing. We’ll hear all about it. He’s got no shortage of behind the scenes stories about his time in the NFL.
And with the Green Bay Packers, before we dive in, just a reminder, this podcast is produced by Story Mark Studios, right in the heart of the Walker’s Point neighborhood in Milwaukee, in partnership with On Milwaukee and presented by Nicolet Law and Central Standard Distillery. Speaking of both, we just had Russell Nicolet in here, the man behind.
The billboards that you see all over the state, it’s dropping next week. It was a fun one. It was great getting to know him a lot of good stories on that one. And speaking of our friends at central standard distillery, they just released their new canned old fashions in collaboration with Leininkugel’s.
They’re amazing. They’re also 8 percent ABV and go down smooth. So be careful. I had one during this episode. I loved it. Tyler Davis, on the other hand, was drinking a nice bottle of water, which further speaks to his commitment to being a professional athlete, definitely the kind of guy you want on your team.
All right, let’s dive in. With Packers tight end, Tyler Davis. Man, so you have had a very interesting welcome to the NFL. You were on the 1 15 Jaguars, then Urban Meyer comes in. You get, you, you weren’t on for that season. You were on the Packers that year, but you were in camp with them. And then you get, go from that to the team with Super Bowl expectations and the Rodgers love, kind of, I wouldn’t call it a clout.
I don’t know what I’d call it, but that overhanging it. And then this past year, I mean, the, the, the, Yeah. What a, what a welcome.
Tyler Davis: Yeah. It’s been a crazy journey. Very rewarding. Just like you alluded to, you know, getting drafted to the Jags and being on that team 1 15 and then the next season getting cut and going to the number one seed.
Going from the best to the worst was the best, like, experience for me to be able to see, like, what the NFL is all about. Definitely got to be around cool people during the journey. It was very rewarding, been able to play with some of the best players in the league, which is awesome. Just very thankful for the way everything has turned out.
Richie Burke: Yeah, before we dive into that, so you grew up on, on Long Island, not necessarily a football hotbed. What was that upbringing like? And what was your journey to the, to the college and
Tyler Davis: the NFL like? It was definitely interesting. You know, like you said Long Island is not a football hotbed. It’s not Florida, it’s not Georgia, it’s not Texas, it’s not California.
So there isn’t a lot of people with the aspirations that I had when I was growing up. You know, I always knew that I wanted to play in the NFL when I was six years old. Fell in love with the game. And I didn’t have a true role model or someone I could look to for advice because it’s just not the area for it.
And just growing up, I knew I wanted to do it, so I knew that I was just going to have to work as hard as I could to make sure that that happened, to achieve that dream. So, put everything that I had into it. I remember when I signed to play at UConn, there was three players from Long Island that went Division I.
There hadn’t been a Division I player in my high school in 23 years. So, like I said, there was no clear blueprint on how to do it. All I knew is to work, and I’m a true believer in hard work pays off, and kind of just went with that and worked as hard as I could, and I’m glad that it’s all worked out when I sit here today.
Richie Burke: I was doing some homework. So you were playing quarterback. You had no power five offers at that position, but some people wanted you to play tight end, but you didn’t want to do that.
Tyler Davis: From Long Island, I grew up a Florida Gators fan. Two reasons I bring that up. Number one is I took a visit there, and they wanted me to play tight end, and I said no.
Richie Burke: After growing up a Gators fan?
Tyler Davis: After growing up a Gators fan, I said, I’m gonna play quarterback. I want to be the guy when there’s two minutes left in the game and the game’s on the line I want to be the guy in the center that makes the plays that leads the team that wins the game I want to be that guy so I said no second reason why I say that and we’ll come back to this is I wanted to be exactly like Tim Tebow when I was a kid, exactly like him.
Everyone said he couldn’t throw, he was just a runner, he was just a big guy, and I kind of fit that similar type mold in high school. People who can’t see you, you’re 6’4 250, 60? Yep, 250. Yeah. I kind of fit that mold in the, this guy is a great athlete, but can he throw? So I could always fit into that kind of category, which motivated me.
You know what I mean? I was like, then Tim got drafted first round by the Broncos. And I was like, okay, you know what I mean? This is possible. You know what I mean? Of course, he’s got doubters, but everybody’s got doubters. You can all do it. So like I said, I said no, and there was a bunch of power fives that I said no to because they just thought that I can play tight end.
I was a big guy, a good athlete. So I ended up with three offers to play quarterback. And UConn I thought was the best opportunity at the time for me to go and play quarterback. Kind of like a pro style offense. Like I said, I mean, I had the dreams of playing the NFL since I was six years old. So kind of, I was like, how can I take this next step to.
mold me into that. So did that and yeah, red shirted, played quarterback ran the scout team and then second year came along and I got called into the head coach’s office and it’s a funny story. It’s after a summer workout, we’re going, I’m going in my second year at Yukon and I’m in the weight room and it’s like 45 minutes since the workout ended.
I mean, everyone’s out of the weight room. There’s like me and another guy probably in there doing our extra stuff that we always do. And I come back in the locker room and everyone’s saying like, Hey, Tyler, the head coach is looking for you. And I’m like, Oh God. Yeah. I mean like what does the head coach want to talk to me about?
And so I eventually go up there and he goes, Hey Tyler would you move to tight end? And I go, absolutely not. I could have done
Richie Burke: that at Florida. Yeah,
Tyler Davis: I could. Right. Exactly. He goes, How about outside linebacker? I laughed. I was like, I’m a quarterback, man. I’m not playing outside linebacker. Yeah. I mean, you’re crazy.
You want me to hit people? Yeah. I’m like, I’m a quarterback. I’m a pretty boy. Like I’m not hitting anybody. I haven’t hit anyone. I’ve been a quarterback my whole life. Like I’m not going to go hit somebody now. So I kind of like laughed and I was like, Nah, man, there’s no way. And I kind of left that day, like, thinking like, Oh, man, maybe this guy doesn’t see me as a quarterback.
You know what I mean? And so he gave me some time. We had, like, a month between like, summer training and camp. Get a little break. And I went home and I really thought about it. And he’s like, whenever you come back, just let me know, like first day of camp, whatever, let them know. And I thought really hard about it.
And I decided to do it. And during that whole process that month, it was like crushing on me because you, like I talked about, like I always wanted to be that quarterback, that guy. And I finally made it to the show. You know what I mean? 50, 000 people, you’re the guy, division one, ESPN, all this stuff.
And now. You’re switching positions. And it was, like I said, it was hard. And the physical part of the learning curve was even more interesting. And I’m very thankful because I can think back to, it was a week into camp. Maybe it was the, it was the first live period that we had. I was playing tight end and it’s crazy.
I, I was doing all right the first week, you know what I mean? No pads, it’s easy. Everyone, you know what I mean? It’s like, you don’t gotta be anything crazy. Like my athleticism just worked with no pads on and it’s the first live period. And I got like this kickout block on like. I mean, no disrespect to this guy, but he didn’t go on to do anything.
I mean, like he was like an, an average college player and I went to go kick this guy out. And I’ve never seen this happen ever in any football. I got knocked so far backwards on this run play that I tackled the running back. I was on offense. He knocked me over that tripped me into the running back. And it was a three yard loss because I tackled the running back.
And I still have that play on my phone and it’s a daily reminder. And when I go back and I think about my career where I’m at now, I give a lot of credit to that play. Because I can still put myself in that play on the ground, hitting the ground with my hand on how pissed I was at that being the result.
And it’s like, that’s always been a theme for me. My whole life is like, I hate losing. I hate getting beat. I hate all this stuff. So when I was on the ground, beating the ground, pissed off, looking down, I was like, I’m gonna make sure that this never happens ever again. And ever since that day, kind of just.
Worked as hard as I could to get to this point where I’m at today. So that point was definitely just an interesting, I’d probably say like a very impactful experience that has gotten me to the point where I’m at today.
Richie Burke: Love how you bounce back in. You went on to set some, I think you set some tight end records at UConn.
Tyler Davis: Yeah, I did. I believe it was I tied the touchdown for a tight end record. Yeah. So like things, I just worked from that day on to this day. Just worked as hard as I could and glad that it paid off. Like I was able to do that
Richie Burke: stuff. What was, what was tech like? Cause you go there for your final year.
You’re you’re, you don’t put up the numbers. You want to. It’s a bigger stage than UConn, obviously. Then you still kind of go and you’re a captain of the team. What was that year like for
Tyler Davis: you? Oh, it was interesting. There’s two reasons why I wanted to go to Georgia Tech. I hadn’t played in a bowl game at UConn.
We were in one my red shirt while I was red shirting St. Petersburg bowl, but I didn’t play. You know, I mean, I was red shirting, so I had all my people that I knew in other teams, what it looked like on social media, what a bowl game looks like. I was like, man, like, this is the college experience, you know, this is college football.
Like I got to make one of these before I get out of college. And Georgia Tech had gone to like 22 straight bowl games, longest in the country, longest bowl streak in the country. So I’m like, okay, this is a good one because I’ll get to play in a bowl game. And secondly always in the back of my mind, I want to play in the NFL.
And the first game of the year was in Death Valley at Clemson off their national championship. So I was like, you know, Tyler, if you want to go play in the NFL, you go play the best team in the country and you go see if you can play. And first part of the story looking forward is we did not make a bowl game, which was very upsetting, but.
The second part, when I played Clemson, that’s kind of the moment where I seriously knew that I was good enough to play at the next level. You could hold your own against those guys. Against the very best. In that,
Richie Burke: in that environment. Absolutely. Absolutely. So you spend a year, a year at Tech, then you get drafted, right, kind of after COVID hits, essentially.
What was that? What was that experience like? And when, when were you projected to go? You end up going in the sixth round? Crazy.
Tyler Davis: Yeah, it was just a crazy story. It was a crazy story. So I go out to California to train for the combine and pro days and all that stuff. And then I was a few votes short of making the combine.
So how does that work? So you need certain amount of votes per team that you’re a draftable prospect. And I don’t know the exact number, you know, it’s more than majority. So, you know, more than 16 teams need to vote that you’re a draftable player. So I was a few votes short of getting that. So I didn’t end up making the combine.
So pretty upsetting. I knew that my athleticism, like that’s like a big deal. I’d be able to showcase that. And so that was upsetting and I was training out in LA. And so the guys I’m training with go to the combine and that’s last week in February, kind of now. And then I’m in California and this COVID thing starts to come up and, and, and it’s coming up in California.
Yeah. And I was like, oof, what is this? You know, I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. And I’m like, my pro day is next week. So I’m like, I don’t think anyone knew that, what it would become. Yeah, I mean unless you’re good at predicting things, but No, I remember thinking it was like, okay, it was
Richie Burke: over in
Tyler Davis: China.
Richie Burke: Yeah. Like, this isn’t really going to make it to the US. I remember that in like February
Tyler Davis: of 2020.
Richie Burke: I saw the same, I
Tyler Davis: saw the same exact thing. And I was like, oh yeah, this will be nothing. Yeah. And then I’m like, all right, well let’s just get my pro day in at least. And my pro day was scheduled for like, I’m so lucky.
My pro day was scheduled for like the first week in March. So it was like one of the first pro days coming off the combine. So they’re starting to talk about like canceling pro days, like two days before mine, I was like, Oh no, no way. Yeah. I mean like now that, that would significantly hurt my chances because I didn’t make the combine and now pro day I know is a great chance for me to showcase.
So, I get my pro day in, very lucky, all of them get cancelled two days later. All of them get cancelled. So, and pro days are a big deal too, you know what I mean? Because, again, you get to see, the scouts get to see players up close, you get to talk to the coaches that are in, you get to talk to everybody. I mean, they talk to everybody, they talk to trainers, they talk to equipment staff, they talk to coaches, they talk to professors, like, That’s a big time for scouts to come and see because like they want to find the right guy.
Especially if you don’t make the combine. Exactly. It’s that much magnified. Absolutely. Coming off a bit of a down year too. Absolutely. So, I was very fortunate to be able to get mine in. Very lucky to whoever scheduled that. One of the first ones coming off the combine, so. I got very fortunate with that timing because if that didn’t happen, then who knows, you know what I mean, where I’d be today.
I don’t know. Who knows. So, yeah. And what was, what was the draft like? I’m sure that was a nerve wracking experience. So, I really didn’t know what was going to happen there. I knew there was a slight chance that I would get drafted towards the end day three, but wasn’t exactly 100 percent sure that I would.
So then kind of, you know, around four goes by around five goes by you know, beginning of six comes and it’s like picks are starting to come against, you know, I mean, there’s only so few left left in the draft and you start to think what’s going to happen on the board on no, I don’t think so, no from my memory, no, but and then I had a list of the I always kept notes on anytime I talked to a team, just interview whenever they call and all this stuff.
And I kind of had a general idea on the teams that were interested. And it’s like, I’m looking at my phone and I’m looking to see just like I’m on ESPN. I’m like. Looking like, okay, this team has this pick coming up, this team has this pick coming up, this team has this pick. I’m like, okay, like, there’s a couple guys left that might, you know what I mean, take a shot on me.
And as I’m looking at my phone, I’m looking like, okay, Jacksonville’s pretty interested in me. I kid you not, one second after looking at that, I get a call from Jacksonville Area Code. And I’m like, no way, this is it. Your heart just started pounding. Started pounding. And there it was. It was the general manager at the time, Dave Caldwell, and told me that they were going to draft me and started crying.
You know what I mean? The second that you told me that obviously a lifelong dream of mine. I’ve watched guys my whole life get drafted and that experience to be able to have your family around and you know, Be with the people that sacrificed so much for you and loved you so much and want this to happen to you so much and be able to share that moment with them.
Um, just like a truly special day. And then also to just being in New York at a time you know, I mean, it’s kind of covert central. So restrictions were pretty tight. You know, if it was up to me I wish I had everybody at my house, you know, which we would have been, maybe we would have rented a restaurant like guys do and all this stuff, but couldn’t do it at the time, you know what I mean?
COVID restrictions were tight, like I said, but within five minutes of me getting drafted, we broke. Every COVID restriction that was ever put in place. And there was a hundred people on my front lawn celebrating cars driving past my street, just honking. People going nuts. It was freaking awesome.
Just like a truly like dream come true. Yeah. I mean, cause that’s kind of when you realize like, okay, like this is for real, like everything that you worked for your whole life, everything that you sacrificed, everything that you gave up was worth it for this moment for achieving your dream. So getting drafted, it was just like such a special moment for me and my family.
Richie Burke: Well, were you like the hometown kid? Cause you said there was no D1 athlete in 23 years from your school. So someone. To go to the league, which is far beyond D1, had to be special for all your family and friends.
Tyler Davis: Oh, yeah. I think it was cool for, for them. I mean, my dad always I don’t get home as much as I, I’d like to just with the nature of the business, but my dad always says, you know, I mean, even to this day, so and so asked about me.
This guy’s cheering for you. This guy says you look great. All that type stuff. So, to be able to be home at least for it was pretty
Richie Burke: cool. Yeah. And then that first year in Jacksonville, you got, you got on the field. And what, what was that like? And then what was the transition like right after that kind of watching it unfold when they bring in urban Meyer and stuff like that?
Tyler Davis: Yeah. So it was a Florida guy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. So it was definitely interesting the way we started with just COVID and whatnot. And So we get drafted. Oh yeah, so
Richie Burke: no fans. It’s hard to remember all this now. Yeah.
Tyler Davis: Jacksonville was lucky too because like, Florida’s one of the open stadiums.
But it was like, it was like half open, but like we played stadiums that were, I mean, no fans. That’s interesting. But it was a, it was a crazy start just in general you get drafted, excited about everything. And now You’re on, you’re on calls about what happens if we don’t play the season because of COVID.
You know, I mean, at, at that time we didn’t even know if we were going to play. You know, I mean, it was early COVID was kind of on the rise. Nobody knew what was going to happen. So there was a plan in place if we weren’t going to play the season. Which is crazy to look back now on. And then fast forward, no preseason, no OTAs.
So like OTAs and preseason is huge. Especially for a rookie, younger player to be able to get reps in before the actual real deal, regular season, because the NFL and college is very different in terms of speed, size, strength. Like it takes some getting used to to get under your belt, to feel comfortable with, with the level of competition, but so didn’t have OTAs.
Didn’t have preseason. You showed up like a week before camp and just went. And I remember I was, I, I didn’t notice at the time that how badly I wish that I had all that stuff my rookie year, how much that would have helped, how much that would have accelerated my game even more my rookie year. Because instead of doing it in practice a hundred times between April, May, June, July, August, instead my first time doing something is against J.
J. Watt. Instead of all the reps that I could have gotten beforehand, I had such a limited in just three weeks in August. Is that real in your first game? Yeah one of my first game, that’s probably one of my biggest like wake up moments in the NFL. We played at Houston. And I remember coming out the huddle and I just put my hand in the dirt, just kind of like looked up to kind of see where my work was at.
Yeah. And I kind of stopped right before the cadence start. And I was like, Oh dang, there’s JJ Watt right in front of me. And that was kind of like a wake up call. I was like, okay, like, you know what I mean? Let’s go. And but like I said, I wish that I had like some preseason, some work before that cause I wish I did better not just in that situation, but, you know, I mean, over the course of that season definitely things that I look back on that.
If I had previous reps and I’m talking about hundreds of reps, you know what I mean? Thousands of reps, you know, in practice all those reps are so valuable. Everyone, because you can’t just football is not played on paper. You know what I mean? Every rep is something different. So every rep is so valuable.
I just wish that I had that my rookie year would have helped out. And
Richie Burke: you’re just hopping on Zoom calls and going to the gym on your own. That’s what it was. Trying to learn the offense on Zoom. What was that offseason like? Are you, when you’re learning about the coaching changes and Urban Meyer coming in and stuff like that, are you finding out on TV or how does that all work from a player’s perspective?
Tyler Davis: I think I probably found out yes through that way. I think that’s just like the fastest way of Like news nowadays is just see it on Twitter or something like that ESPN What
Richie Burke: was the instant reaction because that that was like the splashiest offseason thing that
Tyler Davis: happened I mean like we like we talked about I was excited.
This is the guy that I grew up watching You know, his teams were damn good when I watched him national champion, all of them. Yeah. He’s a good football coach, so I was very excited for him to come in and be able to work with him.
Richie Burke: And then what about the T Bone news? You had to be like, awesome, dream come true.
A lot of people were pissed about that. They’re like, they should not be giving him a spot because he’s Urban Meyer’s guy and taking a spot away from someone
Tyler Davis: else, but
Richie Burke: what was it like inside the locker room? I was the
Tyler Davis: opposite because I was extremely fortunate. Like I said, I grew up a. Huge Tim Tebow fan myself and here I am watching this guy afar and just wanting to be Exactly like him and then I go from that to in the tight end meeting room I’m I sit here and he literally sits right there and he’s nudging me asking me questions And he’s texting me asking questions and he’s like, hey, can we meet up at this time so we can go over stuff?
I’m like You kidding me? You’re Tim Tebow. Come on, man, of course, whatever you need. Yeah, I mean, so like, I enjoyed every second with him. He is everything that everyone sees out of him. Best human being I’ve been around. Yeah, I mean, just a true, genuine guy. Had us over his house a bunch. Gave his shirt off his own back.
I mean, you know, it’s obviously seen. Does any story stand out from your time? First time we go over to his house for like, has the tight ends over. We’re going to barbecue. Great. You know what I mean? Great idea. Florida. It’s the summer. Let’s have a barbecue. He’s got a nice house, got a nice pool, got a nice backyard.
Great. Sounds great. We get there and he’s cooking up burgers and hot dogs and all this stuff. And he’s keto. He’d been keto for a long time, so no bread, right? Yeah, no bread. So he’s finished cooking the burgers and he realizes that he’s keto. So he doesn’t have any buns. He doesn’t have any bread for any of us.
And he’s like, oh my god, guys. He’s like, I didn’t even think about this, but you guys aren’t keto. I was like, no, I’m not keto . Like I, I, I’m a carb guy, you know what I mean? I grew up on carbs. That’s all I eat. And we just like looked around and laughed at each other as we’re like sitting down at a barbecue eating burgers with forks and knives.
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standard distillery. Okay, back to today’s episode with Packers Tyda and Tyler Davis.
Tyler Davis: So I was asking him, this is like beginning maybe like the second week of camp, you know what I mean? It’s our, it’s a grind. And we get like our first off day and I mean, guys can’t wait for the first off day. You know what I mean?
Like it’s 6am to 9pm for the whole week. And it’s like, you just can’t wait to make it to the off day. So we have the off day, come in the next morning to go in the hot tub, get ready for the day. And I see him, I was like, hey Tim, how was your off day? He said it was good. I said, oh, awesome, what’d you do, just chill out?
Chill out in the pool, all this stuff? He’s like, no, I flew to Mississippi, Nebraska, and Texas. I said, no, no, no, I said, Tim, what’d you do yesterday? He goes, yeah, I flew to Mississippi, Nebraska, and Texas for the work that he does, you know what I mean, the charity work that he does. I was like, dude, how do you do that?
And he’s like, no, man, you don’t understand, like, that’s the stuff that gives me life. He’s like, some people think it’s tiring, but that’s the stuff that gives me life. That’s the stuff that gives me energy. That’s the stuff that gives me motivation. So that, that was a very, like, impressive moment for me to be able to hear it from him.
Yeah, I mean, because you see what he does on Instagram and, like, You’re like, oh man, is this stuff really real? I’ll tell you what it is real. Well for
Richie Burke: 99 percent of people They’re just throwing an airbrushed version of themselves on instagram I did for all the tim tebow haters out there. He actually real deal.
He’s the real deal. I never met many like him It’s good to hear. So you have that. Then you get signed by Green Bay and you go there and you’re on a Super Bowl contender and You’re watching all this news come out of Jacksonville about the were you grateful to be in Green Bay at that point in time?
Tyler Davis: I was think I was just grateful to to be on the team in the position that we were in I don’t think that I don’t remember exactly what their record was, but I knew we were the number one seed So just thankful to be on a contender.
Richie Burke: What was your first impression of Aaron Rodgers? Like, was there a moment where you saw him in practice and you were just like, Oh, this, this is different.
Tyler Davis: Yeah. I remember my first day just seeing him and I was like, I mean, there’s, I think as I got older in the NFL, like maybe at first, like there’s some like star struckness, you know what I mean?
Like you see a guy and you’re like, Oh wow, that’s so and so or whatever. So I think that kind of went down as I, my career went. Yeah. But when I first, my first day with him, it was as high as it’s ever been. I was like, holy crap, that’s Aaron Rodgers. Yeah. I mean, this is one of the greatest players of all time.
And I remember my first day I had a lift and he was in our little indoor facility, kind of just had the script with them and he was just doing things visualizing things, going through the. Huddle going up to the ball, just doing it all by himself. And I was like, wow, like this is legit. Yeah. I mean, this is awesome.
And then he introduced himself to me and welcomed me and said, whatever you need, let me know. Yeah. I mean, very nice. And then we went to the practice field and it’s funny knowing what I know now. We do like, it’s called Pat and go, you know, it’s warmup quarterback pats the ball and you run just like a fade.
And it’s mainly just to, like, warm up, get loose, all this stuff. I get out there, and I’m like, line up all the way out there. I’m like, Aaron Roder’s about to throw me a ball. I’m like, holy crap, this is freaking awesome. He throws this thing as high in the sky as possible. As high, and I’m like, trying to, like, do everything that I can to find this ball.
Because it’s as, launch as high as he can. And, like I said, it’s funny now, because he does that on purpose for the new guy. Because the new guy wants to, like, Make sure like he proves himself to the most nerve wracking warmup route. You first one ever to, I mean, it’s like, you want to make a good first impression, like everyone’s just getting easy throws, all this stuff.
And I get a ball launched. And it’s funny because like, like I said, what I know now, it’s like he does that for everyone’s first day. Like when you come on and also to, he’ll, he’ll do this thing. This was memorable too. Did you catch it? I did. I did, but no one really said anything and which is fine.
And but then we went to team period and I ran a little stick route. Five yards, you know, I mean not a very far throw. He throws this thing as hard as humanly possible The second that I come out the break and I was like, you know I mean and then I come back to the huddle and like everyone’s laughing and I’m like, what’s everybody laughing at?
You know, what’s so funny and like everyone’s laughing at how Aaron does that like he just wants to test guys Right when they get there by throwing the ball as hard and yep, this guy’s got the greatest arm ever Yeah, I mean like he’s gotten with it on his ball And so I caught that pass and he kind of just gave me a wink when he, when I came back to the huddle and everybody laughed and it was a cool experience.
And then it was cool to be able to start our relationship like that. So it was awesome.
Richie Burke: Did, does the media or did the media paint it a lot different than the reality of the situation, because at that point in time, that year, and I believe the, the next year, which would have been his final in Green Bay, he He was getting shredded and I don’t know if you pay attention to that stuff But he was getting shredded for like not being a good teammate to the younger guys being all about himself things like that Is it is it a lot different from that inside the locker room?
Tyler Davis: I think it is. I think The only thing that I saw with him is that he was one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever seen He does he’s not a bad teammate. He wants to raise your level to his And I think that’s what gets a bad view. It’s people that don’t know what it’s like to be in that huddle and be in that locker room.
I don’t think any player on the team would tell you he’s a bad teammate. He was demanding, but does that make you a bad teammate? I don’t think so. If he wants me, if he sees my potential this and I’m at this and he’s demanding of that, I don’t see that as a bad teammate. I see that as a great teammate.
That’s someone that wants to get the best out of me. And I think that that, single handedly, has impacted my career so much because when you go into the huddle, in a game, With Aaron Rodgers, Devontae Adams, Randall Cobb, Aaron Jones, your expectations is here. It’s at the roof. And you better not let anyone in that huddle down.
You better not. It’s an accountability thing. Like, these are the best guys in the league. You better not be the one that ruins this whole thing. So your standard gets from here to here. It raises. Just with the competition, the, the demand that these guys put on you. So that I think is the single greatest thing that has happened to me in the NFL is being surrounded by those guys and having the standard set so high for myself that you’re either going to fall off or you’re going to reach that standard.
And I think that’s been one of the biggest thing in my whole career. Did some
Richie Burke: people get rubbed the wrong way and you were like, Hey, this is good. He’s holding me to a high standard. Like I’m going to rise with it. I think,
Tyler Davis: I think the beauty of. Green Bay and just general NFL is that if you don’t rise to that occasion They’re gonna find somebody else that’s gonna that will so I think that’s just that’s how the league works You know, I mean, it’s a performance based business If you’re not gonna rise to that level of performance unfortunately, you’re gonna get let go and you’re gonna go somewhere else and They’ll find someone else to do it.
But I think that was the beauty of what what we were Has made everyone in Green Bay so special because the expectations are extremely high all the time.
Richie Burke: What was any, any first stories or first impressions of Devontae?
Tyler Davis: I mean, other than Aaron, just the best football player I’ve ever seen in person.
I remember my first couple practices, Aaron would throw him a go ball and Devontae would overrun it on purpose and just catch it behind his back. Yeah, I mean, just like ridiculous stuff, like the quickest dude I’ve ever seen. And extremely like helpful to, you know, I mean you know, I’d probably say I have a little different skill set than he does, but he’d always be willing to coach me and help me.
And I might not be able to do the same exact things that he does just from a athletic standpoint, but he’d be able to coach me through. As close to Devontae Adams as I could get, so he was very helpful the whole time. Yeah,
Richie Burke: and you guys get the one seed there. Yeah. Disappointing ending at home against the Niners.
Yep. Then the following year, missed the playoffs, and then the whole Aaron Rodgers darkness retreat, etc. happens. What was it like being a player on the roster and just not really knowing if he’s coming back or it’s going to be Jordan’s year? Was you’re kind of just sitting in uncertainty.
Tyler Davis: Yeah Yeah, exactly I think that was the thing I didn’t have any control of the situation.
So let me just do my thing here but obviously, you know, Aaron’s one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, but also like You can see that Jordan was going to be a great player too. And I’m glad that everyone got to see it this year because all of us had seen that, you know what I mean? The potential that Jordan has the last two years I’ve been in green bay.
So yeah, just focused on what I could.
Richie Burke: I mean, from a fan standpoint, I think I could speak for a lot of fans who are not inside the locker room at all. Like we were very pleasantly. Surprise because we saw him in limited game action. I think he started at Kansas City the year before that and maybe at the end of one game, which weren’t great performances by any means.
And then he, yeah, a little slow starts this year and then just went on an absolute tear. Yeah. And now I think is the favorite to be the MVP candidate out of, out of, out of NFC quarterbacks. Wow. Not AFC, but like NFC quarterbacks. That’s awesome. He looks like the real deal. He looks like great teammate.
What’s it, what’s it like? I guess you haven’t. Been in the huddle with him in a regular season game since your injury this year. But what’s what’s he like to play with?
Tyler Davis: He’s awesome. He’s awesome. It’s been cool to be able for everyone to see, you know, I mean, what we see a practice which has been cool.
Like, yeah, me and Jordan I mean, for the majority, when I was here for the first two years playing scout team with him and having fun with things me and him while Aaron was playing was awesome. So like me and him had a great like relationship, a lot of trust, a lot of like work together.
So that was kind of when we transitioned, when it was a for sure thing, I was pretty excited because I was like, okay, like I’ve worked with this guy for two years, got a great relationship, all this stuff. And then his knee happens and then pretty upset for that reason, but yeah, I was glad that everyone got to see the type of player that he is, like he’s a special talent.
It’s, it’s funny back when I was training for the combat and out in LA in 2020 and he came out the same draft class as I did. Yeah, and We went to this barbecue and Jordan was there and we all took a picture and all this stuff. And it’s funny because me and Jordan always joke around, like me and him have known each other more than anyone longer than anyone that’s currently on the team, like that I’ve known him the longest, so.
We got a great relationship. He’s an awesome dude. What’s he like off the field? Oh, great guy. Great guy. The nicest dude ever. We’re always constantly going out to dinners, having a good time. He always has, over his house, he’ll cater food and we’ll just watch the games, like a Monday night game or a Thursday night game.
Just an all around great guy.
Richie Burke: Nice. Before we get into some quick questions, the, the, the ACL, was that the first major injury you’ve ever suffered? And what, what’s that? Been like for you.
Tyler Davis: Yeah first major injury finally hit me 20 years of playing this game. Yeah, I mean start playing while six and then 20 years later now I’m 26 and finally hit me obviously a devastating blow I was really excited for the season for the reasons we just talked about Knew that I was hitting like the top performance in my career.
Had a great opportunity. You know, I mean, I learned a lot from Mercedes Lewis, Bobby Tanya and my previous two years. And I was really looking forward to putting it all together. You know, I mean, getting a good opportunity. I 10 tackles on special teams the year before I was looking to build off that.
So you’re preseason for Yeah. And then it’s crazy how it happens. You know, I mean, you You score, and then two minutes later, you’re out for the season. It’s crazy how fast things can change in an instant. And you just take it with, you just. Take the, the, the injury and you, you move on, you tack it like you do everything else.
I mean, that’s kind of what I’ve done the whole time. It’s just I’m not going to change who I am just for a circumstance. You know what I mean? It’s like, I’m gonna work as hard as I can, whether it’s ACL rehab or it’s playing the season. So, I know that I will be able to look back on this injury 10, 15 years from now and think that this was the best thing that ever happened to me.
And I know that’s crazy to think, but just philosophy wise, mentally, I think that this, an injury like this, really sets you apart in certain aspects of how you look at things in terms of perspective. You realize, like, how much you love something when it gets taken away from you. I think that’s huge and not, like I said, it’s not that I didn’t love the game before and not that I took stuff for granted.
I didn’t, but it heightens it and magnifies it even more. You know, like I I, I think back a lot to the times where I was a kid and I go on my front lawn by myself when I was six years old, seven years old and I’d take a football, I’d throw it up to myself. And I’d say, oh, Aaron Rodgers drops back to pass, he throws the ball up to, oh, Jordy Nelson makes the catch.
Like, that’s everything that I dreamed about, and that’s where I’m at right now. So, like, I think that’s given me more perspective to enjoy every single second that you have doing this. Because the NFL is like this compared to someone’s entire life. You know what I mean? It’s only a short time. It’s a physical game.
It’s gonna stop eventually. So, I think that’s been a, been a big thing for me. And then just like, I always think back to this quote my college strength coach said this to me. It’s like, are you willing to sprint when the distance is unknown? I think that kind of like stuck with me because it’s easy, like if you’re running a mile, And you’re at the three quarter mark and it’s like, okay, I only got a half mile.
I mean, I only got a quarter mile to go. Like I can make it through this. Yeah. I mean, that’s easy. You know what I mean? You can push through. Okay. We’ve got 10 gassers today. We’re at number nine. Anyone can make it through one. You own the sprint when you don’t know how many we have. There’s no book on how to come back from this perfectly.
You just got to give it every single day. And it’s like, when stuff bad happens to me, I’m the kind of guy that cranks it up. Like, I’m not the type of guy to wave the white flag and give up. Like, what example would that be to my future kids? It’s like, oh yeah stuff got hard for me, so I took it easy. I waved the white flag.
Like, what example would that be for them? Like, I want to be the guy known to like, when stuff got hard, He pushed even harder, long story, but to the original point, I’m confident that this will be the best thing that ever happened to me. I
Richie Burke: give you a lot
Tyler Davis: of credit
Richie Burke: because it’s got to be boring work for you.
Day after day, after day, after day two, you’re not putting on the pads. You’re not running routes. You’re just, you’re just in there doing these little exercises, probably every single day, trying to progress and getting up early and doing that.
Tyler Davis: That’s, that’s, that’s. That’s what it is. It’s all the and I’m glad that I already had that, but it’s just discipline.
You know, motivation is fleeting. You know, I mean, motivation is like, somebody could give me a speech, but like, that’s only going to last me an hour. That’s only going to last me two hours, a motivational speech. It’s the internal discipline is what’s going to take you a long period of time. It’s like, like you said, there’s points of the rehab that it is the same thing every single day.
Same thing for a three month period. Same thing for a six month period. And I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve gotten over that period, but it’s the discipline that’s been inside of me to know that I need to do this. What I did this year for special teams the coaches, they they got some like respect for me.
So what they wanted me to do is stick around and write up personnel reports. So I would watch the other team. I watch every player, every snap and write up something on them. And this takes like nine hours. So I’m in the facility longer than guys that are playing the season and I’m not even playing. And my point going back to that is that I was so determined from the beginning that I’m not going to let this year go to waste and I’m going to make something good come from it.
Because my end goal is to come back better than what I was this season. So, very thankful for those guys for giving me the opportunity. But like I said, I’m very determined to do that and excited for it. Yeah,
Richie Burke: you get through all that. Actually coming back when you’re on the field, you should be in a better space mentally than you were before it happened.
Absolutely. Let’s get to some quicker questions. What would be your single biggest wow moment in the NFL where you’re like, Holy shit, I can’t believe this is happening.
Tyler Davis: I think a cool one was Aaron’s breaking of Brett Favre’s touchdown record on Christmas. That was kind of cool. It’s one that’s just always in my memory bank to be able to, like I said, watch him as a kid and then watch him be there for the record.
I remember he beat the record. We. Alan Lazard scored a touchdown in our home tunnel section and then you look up on the screen and I’m on, I’m on field goal on the field and it’s Brett Favre at the top with a message to Aaron congratulating him. That one was cool just because you grew up and you got to see it and then be there for the moment so that was cool.
What is the biggest NFL? I think the biggest misconception is probably just. That these guys are superheroes. I think that’s what I thought as a kid. These guys are superheroes, but we’re regular human beings at the end of the day. And we have the same emotions. We have the same at home issues. We got the same stuff that regular people deal with.
I think people expect us to be like these super humans that can’t have emotions, can’t have a bad day, all this stuff. It’s like, can’t make a mistake. It’s like. We’re just like you, you know what I mean? We’re the same type of people. So I think that’s the biggest. So if you can do some superhuman stuff on the
Richie Burke: football field, you guys can do that.
That’s what y’all think. Yeah. College football or pro football.
Tyler Davis: The NFL is obviously always my dream, but I love college football. Any big purchases after getting an NFL check? My first purchase was a stim unit for my body to be able to recover faster.
Richie Burke: What an exciting answer, okay. Yes,
Tyler Davis: yes. Nothing major.
Richie Burke: Joe Vilmo was wondering, how difficult is it being a Young, somewhat attractive, professional athlete who’s married in the Green Bay, Wisconsin market where temptation could be everywhere.
Tyler Davis: Well, I appreciate that. I don’t know how true it is, but Green Bay, Green Bay is fun. Green Bay. It’s fun. Glad to have my beautiful wife here with me though.
That was a very well put politically correct answer right there. What’s your
Richie Burke: favorite thing about Wisconsin?
Tyler Davis: I think in general, if I were just a Green Bay it’s like a football town. Everyone loves the football. So I’d probably say Green Bay.
Richie Burke: Are people more friendly in Green Bay, Wisconsin or Long Island?
Tyler Davis: Oh man people probably won’t like me, but Green Bay. Very nice people up here. Crazy. You know, a New Yorker,
Richie Burke: come on. Yeah, I know, I know. Kind of setting you up for that. Craziest fan interaction that you’ve ever been a part of or, or just witnessed?
Tyler Davis: Oh, that’s tough. I wouldn’t say crazy. I mean, it’s crazy to me how diehard these fans are.
We’ll come back from a away trip and we’ll land at 4 in the morning, 3 in the morning, and there’s 50 fans there. Just a regular season away trip? Just regular season away trip. We win the game, we come back, they got signs, they’re all clapping us in to the airport. So, I’m, I’m nervous. That, that backs up your answer
Richie Burke: on friendliest people.
I agree,
Tyler Davis: yeah.
Richie Burke: Not, not many people doing that. Okay, out of these, the last three, I agree. Packers, starting quarterbacks, who throws the best ball? Jordan Love, Aaron Rodgers, or Craig Nall?
Tyler Davis: I can’t answer that one. Aaron, Aaron and Jordan.
Richie Burke: Who has the highest career passer rating out of three? Out of the three?
Tyler Davis: Jordan is young.
Richie Burke: Craig Knoll? Craig Knoll, 123 passer rating, career 5 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. I know my Packers history. What a legend. Kicker Ryan Longwell. Came under fire for saying Applebee’s is the finest restaurant in Green Bay and he eats there five to seven times a week. Has the restaurant scene improved since Ryan Longwell’s day and where, where do you go to eat when you’re in Green Bay?
Tyler Davis: I will absolutely say it’s improved. I will give a shout out to Angelina’s in Green Bay. Me and my wife go there every single Friday, every single Friday night.
Richie Burke: Angelina’s in Green Bay. Yes.
Tyler Davis: I’ve never been there.
Richie Burke: Check it out for sure. What is the biggest highlight of your career? Biggest
Tyler Davis: highlight of my career?
I mean, personally it’s probably kind of set me up. I had a big catch versus the Ravens in 21. Like a 30 yard seam down the middle, that was a cool play. Kind of sparked my career, so I’d probably say that. From
Richie Burke: Aaron, right? Oh yeah, from Aaron. Career goals moving forward? Right now? You’re an unrestricted free agent right now?
Yeah. I think things indicate that you’ll be back next year. We’re hoping to have you back next year. Any, any just career goals moving
Tyler Davis: forward? I think it’s just give everything that I have. It’s kind of just the same formula that I’ve stuck to my whole life. It’s like, if you give everything that you have, everything will work out.
And if it doesn’t, you can look yourself in the mirror and be able to say, you got no regrets, you gave everything you had. So just give my all every day and I know everything will work out.
Richie Burke: Love that answer. Going off of that. What makes you so motivated and disciplined? Have you always been that this way?
Is there a moment? Was there people in your life?
Tyler Davis: I think obviously my parents, you know what I mean? They held me to a high standard. I was the oldest. I kind of set the example. I hope that I’ve set a good example for My younger brothers. Were they, were they athletes? Was your dad an athlete? No very thankful that I was even able to play football because my dad was not allowed to play football by his parents.
I mean, I thought it was too dangerous. So very thankful to my parents for letting me even play. But I think just the, it comes from obviously that, but I’m just so self motivated that, you know, I don’t really need anything else. I feel like that’s the best way to go about things is that you’ll never need.
Any other additional motivation, if it’s all self driven advice to younger athletes who want to make it someday, I’d say there’s no substitute for the work. There’s no, there’s no substitute. Like I said where I come from, there’s no, I didn’t know anyone that played in the NFL. There’s no book on how to get to the NFL.
You just got to give everything that you have every day. I mean, yeah. What do you want to sacrifice for it? I feel like I sacrificed a lot for it. It started in high school I left high school early my senior year Missed the back half of my senior year because I didn’t think that It was important to stay and do all the fun stuff that you do your senior year in high school When we were in college and there was a party I was the guy with five guys that was throwing routes.
I was willing to sacrifice all the social stuff to hopefully achieve my dream. And if I were to go back and do it again, I’d do the same thing all over again, because at the end of the day, if it didn’t work out, I could say that I gave everything that I had. There’s nothing more I could have gave, but there’s not a single day where I.
Regret not going to a college party. And not yeah, I mean instead of going to work my craft So I probably say I mean there’s no substitute for the work and what you’re willing to sacrifice to get what you what you want
Richie Burke: It’s a great answer to go off that for those listening to I did offer tyler a central standard new brandy old fashion That they collaborated on with the line and kugel’s that is very good just came out It’s a saturday afternoon and he is drinking a nice bottle of water You That is the kind of guy you want in the locker room right there.
Final, or second, final question. Most most memorable moment as a Packer?
Tyler Davis: I think when we clinched a 1 C that was fun. Kind of to know that we were the best team in the NFL. It’s crazy the things that, it didn’t work out that year. I always say this, I said there’s not a team in the league that you know, the best team doesn’t always win, but I always hold that to my heart that I know that we were the best team in the league that year.
So I’d probably say that was pretty cool.
Richie Burke: Yeah. And then final question. Is there one thing that you want a message you want to say to all the Packer fans
Tyler Davis: out there? I think, you know, there’s a great future here. We’re really excited for, we’ve got a young group of guys that are hungry and motivated.
So. We’re all excited for the future and we hope you guys are just as excited.
Richie Burke: I can say we are as one, one Packer fan of very many. Well, thank you so much for coming on today. It was great seeing you and that was awesome. Appreciate you having me. It’s awesome. Thank you for tuning into this episode with Packers tight end, Tyler Davis.
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