Ray Davis has landed in an intriguing place for his fantasy football value, as there could be an opportunity for the rookie running back to have significant touches in the Buffalo Bills‘ backfield.
With an open depth chart behind James Cook, is Davis the primary handcuff, and could he have standalone fantasy value beyond that?
Let’s examine Davis’ fantasy projections for the 2024 season and consider whether fantasy managers should draft him at his current ADP.
Ray Davis’ 2024 Fantasy Outlook
- Total Fantasy Points: 132.9
- Rushing Yards: 625.4
- Rushing TDs: 2.6
- Receptions: 25.3
- Receiving Yards: 252.6
- Receiving TDs: 0.7
These are PFN’s consensus projections, correct as of August 15. The most up-to-date projections can be found in our Who Should I Draft Tool.
Should You Draft Davis This Year?
The cost-to-upside ratio for Davis is perhaps the most enticing of any late-round option in fantasy drafts right now. Depending on the site and format, Davis is being drafted anywhere between the 14th round and going undrafted.
As a last-round pick, Davis is a tremendous value given his potential role on the Bills.
When you look at the Bills’ depth chart, Davis is fighting with Ty Johnson, Darrynton Evans, and Frank Gore Jr. for the backup role to Cook.
There is no one in that group that should definitively stand in Davis’ way, but there is enough competition that he cannot simply coast to it. If he can beat out those other guys, Davis has instant late-round fantasy value as a handcuff to Cook.
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Davis has the ability to be a dual-threat weapon for the Bills and fantasy managers. In his final year of college, he caught 33 passes for 323 yards and seven touchdowns, to pair with 1,129 rushing yards and 14 more touchdowns.
It is hard not to be excited about what potential Davis could bring to the NFL field as a fantasy asset. At worst, he should be able to have a solid pass-catching floor in PPR.
The problem is working out whether Davis will have a role alongside Cook. Last year, Latavius Murray had 96 touches, Johnson had 37, and Damien Harris had 25. That in itself is not going to translate into consistent fantasy value in a backup role. Davis could have some nice weeks, but fantasy managers will benefit only in deeper leagues or best ball formats.
Where the majority of Davis’ value comes from is as the handcuff to Cook. In 2023, Cook had 237 rushing attempts and 44 receptions. That is an average of 16.5 touches per game, which presents plenty of opportunity to return value.
At that level of potential usage, Davis could have solid RB3 value with RB2 upside if Cook were to go down. If you drafted Cook, Davis is definitely someone to consider in those final couple of rounds.
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The other role that Davis could get thrust into is Curtis Samuel’s style of lining up in the slot and taking handoffs on jet sweeps, etc.
Davis has proven in college that he is a capable receiver, so if Samuel were to get injured, there could be another path to fantasy relevance. You are not counting on it, but it is always good to have some other options.