ORLANDO, FL — With the 2020 NFL Draft over with and many big-name wide receivers such as CeeDee Lamb, Denzel Mims, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs all having new homes and teams, one name that could be a potential Day 2 steal could be University of Central Florida Knights wide receiver, Gabe Davis selected by the Buffalo Bills 128th overall in the fourth round.
Davis, a 6’3, 212-pound junior from nearby Sanford, Florida caught 72 passes for 1,241 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 17.2 yards per catch in Josh Heupel’s high-tempo quick-strike offense down in Orlando. In emerging into one of the nation’s top vertical threats averaged 103.4 yards in 12 regular-season games for the Knights.
In two games against big-name non-conference Power Five foes, Stanford and Pitt—where he caught 10 passes for 151 yards and two TD’s in a 35-34 loss, UCF’s first in almost two years—Davis caught 15 passes for 214 yards (while averaging 107 receiving yards) and three touchdowns.
In a 27-24 road loss at conference rival, Cincinnati, Davis registered season highs in catches (13) and receiving yards (170), the third in a four-game streak of 100-plus receiving yard games—as UCF saw their streak of 19 American Athletic Conference wins snapped on a cold and bitter Friday evening at Nippert Stadium.
Thanks to running a 4.54 in the 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine, Davis had an enticing combination of size, physical measurables and skills that could have enticed a team desperate for a tall red-zone target, as this was one of the deepest drafts for WR in a long time, and possibly the deepest since the Larry Fitzgerald-led class of 2004 and the OBJ-Sammy Watkins-Mike Evans triumvirate-led class of 2014.
Projected as a Day 2 or 3 pick, Buffalo landing Davis got a player who can immediately provide value to the Bills, who were in need of a tall, physical wideout capable of high-pointing balls and winning 50/50 balls in the red zone. While Buffalo already has newly-acquired Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley and John Brown, none of them have the physical tools that Davis can bring to an offense in need of a big wideout who can compliment QB Josh Allen and his rocket arm.
While Davis may not be the big name such as Ruggs, Jeudy, Lamb or Mims, he’ll get a chance to make his own mark in Buffalo and soon join their ranks and stake his own claim.