{"id":728058,"date":"2026-02-04T05:35:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T05:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/728058\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T05:35:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T05:35:27","slug":"demario-davis-makes-strong-case-for-man-of-the-year-award-rod-walker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/728058\/","title":{"rendered":"Demario Davis makes strong case for Man of the Year Award | Rod Walker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Demario Davis<\/a> was helping others long before receiving the million-dollar contracts he\u2019s earned over the years as one of the best linebackers in the NFL.<\/p>\n

Hazel Magee Fairly made sure of it.<\/p>\n

Davis was a kid growing up in Mississippi when his grandmother would have him and his family members take plates of food to the elderly and sick in town.<\/p>\n

That benevolence has continued on a much grander stage. It\u2019s why Davis will be in San Francisco on Thursday night for the NFL Honors ceremony.<\/p>\n

Davis is the New Orleans Saints nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. He and 31 other players are vying for the league’s most prestigious honor, recognizing \u201cplayers who excel on the field and demonstrate a steadfast commitment to creating a positive impact beyond the game.”<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know much about what the other 31 nominees have done to serve their communities.<\/p>\n

But I do know if any of them have done as much as consistently as Davis has, they more than deserve the award.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not enough space here to list all of the things Davis has spent his time doing for the city of New Orleans since arriving in 2018. He’s done everything from working on social-justice issues to mentoring kids to feeding families.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He’s done so much that this is the third time the Saints have nominated him for the award. He was also nominated for the 2020 and 2022 seasons. He doesn\u2019t take the nominations for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think anytime you get a recognition of this stature, it takes you back to your why,\u201d Davis said. \u201cFor me, my why will always be centered around my faith. I think we are called to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. And I\u2019m so grateful to this organization because of the platform I have here, I\u2019m able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locally, Davis has done a little bit of everything. He started a leadership development program with The 18th Ward, a nonprofit that \u201cbuilds community through high-quality, affordable sports programming and workforce development for youth and families from every neighborhood in the city.\u201d Davis met weekly with 25 young leaders to mentor them on being servant leaders in the community.<\/p>\n

In 2013, Davis and his wife Tamela started the Devoted Dreamers Foundation. The mission of that is to help youth grow spiritually, mentally and physically. Proceeds from his “Dining for Dreams” fundraiser help provide micro-grants to small businesses. That alone has helped more than 5,000 people in New Orleans. His annual “Dinner with the Davises” event with the local Boys and Girls Club chapter emphasizes the importance of family mealtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Orleans is such an easy place to serve,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThere is a need like there is everywhere. But the heart and willingness of the people to come alongside you to serve is what makes it special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis played a key role in helping grow girls\u2019 flag football in Louisiana and his home state of Mississippi. His work doesn\u2019t end there. Davis visited France last year as an ambassador for the NFL, which will host its first ever game there next season. The league announced Monday that the Saints will be one of the teams<\/a> playing there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m able to have a worldwide impact with trips like going to Paris,\u201d Davis said. \u201cSo it\u2019s a tremendous honor to be able to (be nominated to) get this award. But to be able to live out the why is just so rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the days of delivering food as a kid helped plant the seed for Davis, he started really giving back during his college days at Arkansas State. He’d often give speeches at the local alternative school.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I gave my life to Christ, it became more about living for something that was greater than myself,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI had always been about the glory I could get on the field. Once my life changed, it became about how can I serve? How can I use the platform to impact the locker room and how can I impact the community?\u201d<\/p>\n

His influence in the locker room is just as powerful as his impact in the community and on the field. Ask any player about how the Saints didn\u2019t let go of the rope after starting 2-10, and chances are they\u2019ll mention some speech Davis gave during tough times.<\/p>\n

There are 1,696 active players in the NFL. You won\u2019t find many more respected than the 37-year-old Davis. It was evident the day after the season ended, as several players made their way to get him to autograph a jersey.<\/p>\n

If Davis\u2019 name is called Thursday night, he\u2019d become just the second Saints player to win Walter Payton Man of the Year. Drew Brees won it in the 2006 season, his first one in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

Davis makes one thing clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do want to win the award,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the third time will be the charm.<\/p>\n

He’d not only be the second Saints player to win the award but also the second player from Mississippi to win it. The other was Payton, the late, great Chicago Bears running back whom the award is named after.<\/p>\n

Growing up, Davis always heard about Payton\u2019s greatness. Davis researched Payton by reading about him in the encyclopedia. He learned about Payton\u2019s legendary work ethic of sprinting up and down hills or dodging trees while running through the woods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my first time trying to embody somebody I had heard about,\u201d Davis said. \u201cNot only was he \u2018Sweetness\u2019 on the field, but it was also his kindness and character that went before him.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s what I wanted to represent. I wanted to have my character speak just as loudly as my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed it has.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Demario Davis was helping others long before receiving the million-dollar contracts he\u2019s earned over the years as one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":728059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[7,4095,896,55,2572,2571,6,397],"class_list":{"0":"post-728058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-saints","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-hardwall","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-saints","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanssaints","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-saints"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116010740909215317","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/728059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}