Why This LSU Linebacker Could Get Buried on Depth Chart Next Season
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LSU football's defense is ready to take another step up under defensive coordinator Blake Baker in 2026.
To take that step, LSU will have to rely on its returning pieces and its handful of defensive transfers.
But for Davhon Keys, LSU's leading tackler last season, his junior season won't see the starts he's proven he deserves. The good news is that Baker loves to rotate his defensive players, so Keys could still see lots of playing time.
Built for a Breakout
Keys is ready for his breakout. He was last season.
But with TJ Dottery joining the linebacker room at LSU and Whit Weeks returning in 2026, Keys will likely remain in the third linebacker spot in Baker's defense.
He started his sophomore season in the same spot on the depth chart, but after Weeks was sidelined with an injury throughout the season, Keys took over as the No. 2 linebacker. He went on to lead LSU in tackles with 92 across 13 games and five starts.
He had quite the season, finishing with the most tackles in the SEC behind just one player: his now teammate, Dottery.
But it didn't come as a surprise that he was ready to take over. It all started in 2024 when he was a freshman.
In that season, he played in 12 games with four starts – all in LSU's last four games – and recorded 31 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. But he showed his true potential in LSU's Texas Bowl win over Baylor.
In his 83 snaps against the Bears, he recorded six tackles, one pass breakup, two pass deflections and a pick-six on Baylor's first drive of the game.
Going into his sophomore campaign, he was one of Baker's favorites to take the next step in 2025.
Now, as 2026 approaches, Keys is yet again ready to take the next step.
How He Can Contribute In 2026
Keys has all the skills of an elite linebacker in college football, and as he enters his junior year, the experience is only a positive for him.
He'll have to watch some snaps from the sidelines while two of the SEC's best linebackers are on the field, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
It's a chance for him to mirror his own game after Dottery and Weeks, a model that can lead to hearing his name called in the NFL Draft sometime in the next two seasons.
But Keys won't always be watching from the sideline. He'll be subbing in and out for Weeks or Dottery regularly, as Baker's scheme sees lots of rotation. He'll have his chance to shine, and there is no doubt in his mind, or Baker's, that he will contribute in 2026.
And he wants to contribute to something greater than he's ever been a part of at LSU.
"We're definitely going to put our heads down and work hard this summer," Keys said during spring camp. "We know what we came here to do. We didn't come here, you know, for eight or nine wins."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/lsu as Why This LSU Linebacker Could Get Buried on Depth Chart Next Season.
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