Ray Davis shined in place of the injured James Cook in Week 6. However, the rookie popped up on Thursday’s injury report, putting his status for Week 7 in doubt.
Unless otherwise stated, all stats are courtesy of TruMedia.
Will Ray Davis Be Active in Week 7?
The fourth-rounder thrived in Buffalo’s Monday night win over the New York Jets. Davis averaged 4.9 yards per carry on 15 attempts while adding three catches for 55 yards in the win over the Jets.
All-22 of Ray Davis' Carries and Catches against the New York Jets.
This is what Ray Davis can do with an 85.2% opportunity share. He averaged 3.5 yards after contact per attempt with 71.1% of his yards being after contact.
He ran 14 routes leading to a 46.7% route… pic.twitter.com/H4E23QaMUB
— Bruce Matson (@MetricScout) October 17, 2024
However, Davis was a new addition to the injury report on Thursday as he was limited with a calf injury. After not appearing at all on Wednesday’s report, Davis likely got hurt on Thursday, placing his status for Sunday’s tilt against the Tennessee Titans in jeopardy. He was limited again on Friday, one of two players on the active roster not to log a full practice (safety Mike Edwards was out with an illness).
Fantasy Outlook for Buffalo Bills RBs in Week 7
At the same time that Davis appeared on the injury report, Cook returned to full practice on Thursday and Friday. Cook did not receive a final injury designation at all at the end of the week. That puts him in a position to reassume the majority of snaps and touches in Buffalo’s backfield.
From Weeks 1-5, Cook was the RB9 in fantasy football in PPR points per game, piling up 432 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving). Cook also took 66% of the Bills’ running back carries, earning a clear RB1 label from a usage standpoint.
There’s some thought that Davis’ impressive performance and more patient running style could eat into Cook’s touches. We still may face that reality when Davis is healthy, but given this injury, it seems likelier that Week 7 looks like the first five weeks of the season in Buffalo’s backfield.
That makes Cook a plug-and-play option, even against a stingy Titans defense. Tennessee is slightly more forgiving against running backs, ranking 11th in PPR points per game allowed (compared to first vs. tight ends and second vs. wide receivers).
Some thought Ty Johnson might be the RB1 or at least earn a 50-50 timeshare with Davis last week, but that proved to be unfounded. Johnson played 33.3% of the snaps, only a small uptick from his 24% participation rate from the first five weeks (and actually down from his 35.6% participation rate in Week 5).
Johnson seems fairly locked in as the passing-down back (71% of his snaps have been on dropbacks this year), giving him minimal fantasy value.