Davhon Keys
Davhon Keys led LSU in tackles last fall and finished second in the entire SEC. His reward for 2026: a projected spot as the third linebacker on his own team. When the man who edged you for the conference tackle crown shows up in your locker room, this is what depth looks like.
The framing around Keys this offseason is almost cruel in its math. He led LSU with 92 tackles in 2025 while filling in for an injured Whit Weeks, a total that, as Tigers beat coverage put it, "would make him a starter at virtually any other program in the country." Instead, Weeks is back and First-Team All-SEC, and LSU added TJ Dottery, who happened to lead the entire SEC with 98 tackles for Ole Miss's playoff run. Dottery and Keys finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference in tackles last season; now they share a position room, and Keys is the odd man out on the projected depth chart.
The board sentiment splits between "this is the best linebacker unit in the SEC" and "how is a 92-tackle kid LB3?" Sports Illustrated's LSU site literally ran the headline that Keys "could get buried on the depth chart." The saving grace everyone keeps pointing to is scheme: Blake Baker rotates heavily in his 4-2-5, so Keys won't actually be glued to the sideline. He'll spell Weeks and Dottery, and given his freshman-year flash, a 41-yard pick-six in the Texas Bowl over Baylor as a true freshman, the talent isn't the question.
The forward stake is simple and it's the one LSU fans keep circling: in a room this loaded, does Keys claw back to a full-time role, or does the most productive returning linebacker on the roster spend his junior year as the SEC's most overqualified backup?
Play style
Keys is a downhill, instinctive tackler who reads run fits fast and gets to the ball sideline-to-sideline, the trait the Butkus watch note flags as his calling card. The production backs the scouting: 92 stops as a sophomore, 35 of them solo per his 2025 line, plus 3.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack, so he's a finisher in space more than a blitz-heavy edge presser. His pass instincts are real too, with two pass breakups in 2025 and a true-freshman pick-six on his resume, suggesting coverage range to match the run-and-hit. No play-by-play percentiles are available for him, so this is a scouting read, not a percentile profile: think reliable, rangy, high-volume off-ball linebacker whose floor is high enough that depth, not ability, is the only thing keeping him off the field.
SOURCES
- SI / LSU: Why This LSU Linebacker Could Get Buried on Depth Chart Next Season
- SI / LSU: Ranking LSU's 3 Strongest Defensive Positions for 2026
- Louisiana Sports: Spring Depth Chart - veteran linebackers headline Baker's defense
- NOLA.com: Trey'Dez Green, Davhon Keys lead LSU freshmen in Texas Bowl win over Baylor
Career Arc
How he plays
Play style
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
LSU
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · LSU
Returning around him
- 66% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
- 7 LSU players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +0 net (41 in / 41 out)
2026 Award watch
- Butkus
LSU · Last season: 7-6 (AP #20) · Talent rank #6 · 2026 recruiting class #11
Perception vs tape
Davhon Keys led LSU in tackles last fall and finished second in the entire SEC. His reward for 2026: a projected spot as the third linebacker on his own team. When the man who edged you for the conference tackle crown shows up in your locker room, this is what depth looks like.
The framing around Keys this offseason is almost cruel in its math. He led LSU with 92 tackles in 2025 while filling in for an injured Whit Weeks, a total that, as Tigers beat coverage put it, "would make him a starter at virtually any other program in the country." Instead, Weeks is back and First-Team All-SEC, and LSU added TJ Dottery, who happened to lead the entire SEC with 98 tackles for Ole Miss's playoff run. Dottery and Keys finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference in tackles last season; now they share a position room, and Keys is the odd man out on the projected depth chart.
The board sentiment splits between "this is the best linebacker unit in the SEC" and "how is a 92-tackle kid LB3?" Sports Illustrated's LSU site literally ran the headline that Keys "could get buried on the depth chart." The saving grace everyone keeps pointing to is scheme: Blake Baker rotates heavily in his 4-2-5, so Keys won't actually be glued to the sideline. He'll spell Weeks and Dottery, and given his freshman-year flash, a 41-yard pick-six in the Texas Bowl over Baylor as a true freshman, the talent isn't the question.
The forward stake is simple and it's the one LSU fans keep circling: in a room this loaded, does Keys claw back to a full-time role, or does the most productive returning linebacker on the roster spend his junior year as the SEC's most overqualified backup?
How he plays
Keys is a downhill, instinctive tackler who reads run fits fast and gets to the ball sideline-to-sideline, the trait the Butkus watch note flags as his calling card. The production backs the scouting: 92 stops as a sophomore, 35 of them solo per his 2025 line, plus 3.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack, so he's a finisher in space more than a blitz-heavy edge presser. His pass instincts are real too, with two pass breakups in 2025 and a true-freshman pick-six on his resume, suggesting coverage range to match the run-and-hit. No play-by-play percentiles are available for him, so this is a scouting read, not a percentile profile: think reliable, rangy, high-volume off-ball linebacker whose floor is high enough that depth, not ability, is the only thing keeping him off the field.
- SI / LSU: Why This LSU Linebacker Could Get Buried on Depth Chart Next Season
- SI / LSU: Ranking LSU's 3 Strongest Defensive Positions for 2026
- Louisiana Sports: Spring Depth Chart - veteran linebackers headline Baker's defense
- NOLA.com: Trey'Dez Green, Davhon Keys lead LSU freshmen in Texas Bowl win over Baylor
DNA match
Player DNA
Balanced Linebacker
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Edwin Spillman’s 2025 season.
Matches Edwin on
Differs from Edwin on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to MarcAnthony Parker's sophomore season at Navy (2025).
Matches MarcAnthony on
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2025
Peak #6069
Peaked at #6069 this season.