Despite a lot of speculation that the Buffalo Bills would take a wide receiver early in the 2023 NFL Draft, the team held fast, not picking a wideout until the fifth round. That means Gabriel Davis’ role as the team’s No. 2 receiver looks secure, for now.
2023 Fantasy Football: Gabriel Davis Profile
Recap of 2022 season
Davis hit career highs in production totals last season, catching 48 passes on 93 targets for 836 yards and seven touchdowns. Still, it was a far cry from Stefon Diggs’ totals and not too far from what tight end Dawson Knox put up … and this was in the NFL’s second most productive offense.
Updated Bills outlook
Behind Diggs, there’s going to be some competition at the other receiver spots. Some mix of veteran addition Trent Sherfield, second-year player Khalil Shakir or rookie Justin Shorter could all make a case for some of the looks we’d expect from the No. 2 receiver in such a productive offense. The Bills also added TE Dalton Kincaid in the draft and brought in RB Damien Harris in free agency to replace Devin Singletary and compliment second-year back James Cook.
Best case scenario
There’s been talk this offseason of the Bills doing more with Davis than just sending him downfield. That could mean more opportunities. In a perfect world, Davis should easily produce more than 1,000 yards in this offense. His big-play ability may be volatile but it will produce weeks where he helps you win matchups. Davis will almost always be boom-bust but in a best case he’s more consistent and is a strong WR2/FLEX in PPR most weeks.
Worst case scenario
The worst-case scenario is more of the same. If Davis can’t make the case for more looks, expect more work for the other receivers in that offense. That means Shakir and the tight ends see more work and Allen leans on Diggs like he has in the past. Buffalo could also open up the passing game in the backfield to supplement the lack of depth at receiver.
Prediction
Though the potential is there for more, the safe bet for Davis is that he puts up numbers similar to what he did last year. So you’re looking at a boom-bust receiver week-to-week that will be more of a dice roll than a sure thing. That makes Davis nothing more than a FLEX in PPR formats.