Breece Hall’s knee injury seemingly opened the door for Braelon Allen to become a late-season league-winner in Week 14. However, fellow rookie Isaiah Davis saw a much bigger workload than expected, muddying the picture in the Jets’ backfield.
Looking ahead, what is Davis’ fantasy outlook, and how much FAAB should fantasy football managers spend on him?
Isaiah Davis’ Fantasy Outlook
Allen had been the clear second fiddle to Hall, making him one of the more coveted handcuff running backs this season. Patient managers were seemingly rewarded with Allen stepping into the RB1 role in Week 14 vs. the Miami Dolphins.
However, the breakout did not occur as expected. Allen posted a respectable 81 scrimmage yards on 11 carries and four receptions. However, Davis took much more of a role than expected, posting 67 scrimmage yards on 10 carries and three receptions.
By snap share, the two were almost identical, even sharing the field on some plays. Hall played 35 snaps to 33 for Davis.
How Much FAAB Should You Spend on Davis?
Should Hall remain out, Davis is still not relevant enough to plug into lineups. Davis likely would occupy the smaller half of a timeshare with Allen, siphoning fantasy value away from the latter more than anything.
The Jets do have favorable matchups remaining against the Jacksonville Jaguars (second-most PPR points per game allowed to RBs) and Buffalo Bills (third-most). However, it would be hard to trust either back for a highly inconsistent and sometimes non-functional offense.
Regardless, it appears likelier that Hall will return for those favorable matchups. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Jets have no plans to shut down Hall for the rest of the season, despite their 3-10 record. Given that Hall was able to play through the same ailment in Week 13, it’s possible that he simply needed one week off to recharge.
If anything, this could also blur Hall’s value, as the Jets aren’t incentivized to give him his usual bell-cow workload if the playoffs are out of reach and he’s slightly physically compromised. Hall is going in lineups regardless of when he’s back, but he’d be a higher-risk option than usual.
Davis’ Background
As a senior out of Joplin High School in Joplin, Mo., Davis rushed for 2,283 yards and 45 touchdowns on just 253 carries. That’s over nine yards per carry and averages out to a touchdown every 5.6 attempts.
Davis joined South Dakota State, an FCS powerhouse, during the COVID-19-delayed 2020 season played in the spring of 2021.
As a true freshman, Davis amassed 96 carries for 818 yards and 10 touchdowns. A year later, despite only playing seven games, he was able to accrue 95 carries for 701 yards and seven scores, maintaining his absurd per-carry averages.
Davis’ best years, however, came last. In 2021, he racked up 1,451 yards and 15 touchdowns on 249 carries. A year later, he added on 236 carries for 1,578 yards and 18 scores — while catching 44 passes for 372 yards and a touchdown over that two-year stretch.
All told, in 46 career games, Davis stockpiled 4,461 yards and 49 touchdowns, while averaging almost seven yards per attempt.
The Jets drafted Davis in the fifth round, 39 picks after they took Allen. Thus far he’s posted 127 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns while playing 6.3% of the snaps as a rookie.