Ray Davis's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis found plenty of room to run in Saturday night's preseason win over the hosting Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium, taking the ball eight times for 58 yards in the victory. Davis had a long pickup of 19 yards on the ground, leading the team in rushing yards on Saturday against the Steelers after totaling only 21 yards in last weekend's preseason opener. Starter James Cook remains Buffalo's obvious lead back to begin the season, but Davis is primed for his fair share of involvement as a change-of-pace back on a Bills team that placed more of an emphasis on the running game during the second half of last year. The 24-year-old rookie fourth-rounder has a versatile skillset and can be used in both early-down and pass-down situations, but he's best suited as an RB4/5 stash for fantasy managers in the final rounds of drafts.

Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis had an uneventful day in Saturday afternoon's preseason loss to the visiting Chicago Bears at Highmark Stadium, rushing five times for a mere two yards in the defeat. However, he did come down with three of his four targets for 19 yards. Davis was drafted by the Bills in the fourth round of this past spring's NFL Draft to provide a change of pace behind starter James Cook in Buffalo's backfield, but he was outproduced on the ground by both the undrafted Frank Gore Jr. as well as journeyman Darrynton Evans on Saturday afternoon against Chicago. Standing at 5-foot-7 with a 218-pound frame, Davis has the ability to catch passes, as evidenced by his 11.0% target share over his four-year college career, and handle goal-line work after finding the end zone 20 times at Kentucky in 2023. He'll look to be more productive in next Saturday's preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson (undisclosed) suffering an undisclosed injury at training camp early this week, giving rookie running back Ray Davis a big opportunity in practices this week. After Johnson left, Davis was the clear second back on the field after starter James Cook, working in with quarterback Josh Allen and the first-team offense when Cook wasn't on the field. If Johnson's injury is serious, Davis will have a big opportunity to secure the top backup role to Cook to start the 2024 season. The rest of the Bills' RB depth chart features players who seem unlikely to make the 53-man roster. However, Buffalo could look to add a free-agent RB at some point this summer if Johnson requires an extended absence. Even when Johnson was healthy over the weekend, he split first-team reps with Davis with Cook sitting out.

Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis "could have a sneaky-big impact" in 2024, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. The Kentucky product was selected with the 128th overall pick in last month's draft and has impressive power behind his 5-foot-8, 211-pound frame. One NFL scout told Fowler that Davis is a "great complement to [James] Cook and should get a lot of goal-line and short-yardage work, which should result in some touchdowns." Cook is a fine runner, but he struggled in goal-line and short-yardage situations last year, delivering just two touchdowns. On the other hand, he emerged as a real receiving threat, catching 44 passes for 445 yards through the air. It's easy to envision a scenario where the Bills rely on Cook on early downs and in passing situations before turning to Davis when they need a physical back to secure a few yards. Such a backfield dynamic would drop Cook to the RB2 tier in fantasy football while Davis could sneak into RB3/FLEX territory.