Gabe Davis - Getting a Bum Rap From Some Fans

[jwhit34]

Going into the season, a lot of the buzz about the offense was about Gabe Davis "taking the next step" and becoming a big time WR2. Now, a significant portion of fans say he is a disappointment. 

 

I think a fair expectation going into the season to be considered a top end WR2 would be a season with 60-70 receptions, 900-1,000 yards and 7-9 TDs. 

 

Davis missed 1 game due to injury, so in the 10 games he has played he now has 33 receptions, 650 yards and 5 TDs. How does that compare to expectations?

• He ranks #22 in receiving yards per game, and the only WR2s ahead of him are Waddle and Higgins.
• Only 10 WRs have more TDs
• At 65 yards per game, that extrapolates out to 1,105 over 17 games. If he averages 65/game the rest of the year, it would be 1,040 in 16 games.
• He has 5 TDs in 10 games played so if he keeps up that pace he will have 8 TDs.
• The receptions are lighter, he would end at 53 at 3.3/game

 

Yes, the drops are not good, but if you were asked before the beginning of the season would you take a 53-1,040-8 stat line for Davis this year? I am guessing almost everyone would, especially if you said Diggs was going to also have the year he's having. 

 

I have thought for a long time a lot of Bills fans overvalued Don Beebe, whose career highs with the Bills were 40 catches ('94) and 554 yards ('92). Davis is moving into undervalued territory.

[NewEra]

Here we go again 

[Ya Digg?]

So the expectations were obviously very high coming off that playoff game, but I do think some of the criticism is warranted. The drops are bad, really bad. He’s also not making contested catches. Yesterday he had a play for a touchdown he should have made. He has a step on his guy, the ball is thrown well, and he exited for the ball to get to him instead of extending his arms and securing that ball before the defender had a chance to knock it away. That’s a play I think a lot of people expect a WR2 to make, especially in a close game like it was 

[SCBills]

Some of it is Gabe.  You can’t just disregard the drop rate.  
 

Some of it is that we have next to zero reliable production from the slot, so more focus is given to Gabe and Diggs.  
 

Diggs typically steps up … Gabe has been hit or miss for what we think/hope is a WR2. 
 

But yes… I’d say some of the criticism comes from the fact Knox is now a well paid blocking TE for some reason and our slot production is erratic at best.  …and that’s not Gabe’s fault. 

[Nextmanup]

It's mostly about the drops, at least for me.  A WR who catches balls only now and again is worthless.

And he isn't getting open consistently enough IMO.

 

He hasn't taken the next step.  When he does, if he does, we'll all know it.

 

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

Gabe's receptions, yards, and TDs are mostly a result of playing in a pass-happy offense with Josh Allen at QB. 

 

He's near the bottom of the league in drop percentage and catches per targets. He's also run wrong routes that resulted in multiple INTs

 

He's taken a pretty big step back this season even if his initial stats look fine. 

[Franco_92]

Both his drop and catch rates are poor.

[Mr. WEO]

Proof the Gabe hate is bread for the masses. 
 

People are crazy. 

[thenorthremembers]

Hes getting the exact rep he should get.    The catch rate is way too low.   At times this year its dipped below 50%.  For context the last year John Brown was here, when the Bills felt like he was regressing and didn't bother bringing him back he was over 60%  same for Emmanuel Sanders last year.

 

Davis is proving that he is at best a guy who can be a #2 in short spurts, not a full time #2 you can rely on.  In reality, he is a high end #3 who you let walk after his rookie contract is up.

Edited November 25, 2022 by thenorthremembers

[RoyBatty is alive]

9 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Here we go again 

What about extending Tremaine Edmunds?

[PromoTheRobot]

Part of the problem is most Bills fans don't watch every other NFL game with the same scrutiny and don't realize that other superstar players make mistakes too.

Edited November 25, 2022 by PromoTheRobot

[RoyBatty is alive]

15 minutes ago, jwhit34 said:

Going into the season, a lot of the buzz about the offense was about Gabe Davis "taking the next step" and becoming a big time WR2. Now, a significant portion of fans say he is a disappointment. 

 

I think a fair expectation going into the season to be considered a top end WR2 would be a season with 60-70 receptions, 900-1,000 yards and 7-9 TDs. 

 

Davis missed 1 game due to injury, so in the 10 games he has played he now has 33 receptions, 650 yards and 5 TDs. How does that compare to expectations?

• He ranks #22 in receiving yards per game, and the only WR2s ahead of him are Waddle and Higgins.
• Only 10 WRs have more TDs
• At 65 yards per game, that extrapolates out to 1,105 over 17 games. If he averages 65/game the rest of the year, it would be 1,040 in 16 games.
• He has 5 TDs in 10 games played so if he keeps up that pace he will have 8 TDs.
• The receptions are lighter, he would end at 53 at 3.3/game

 

Yes, the drops are not good, but if you were asked before the beginning of the season would you take a 53-1,040-8 stat line for Davis this year? I am guessing almost everyone would, especially if you said Diggs was going to also have the year he's having. 

 

I have thought for a long time a lot of Bills fans overvalued Don Beebe, whose career highs with the Bills were 40 catches ('94) and 554 yards ('92). Davis is moving into undervalued territory.

This is like saying Josh is still a realistic MVP candidate when looking at his overall season stats but ignoring the trends of the last few weeks

[Einstein]

Nah, he drops WAY too many balls.

[SCBills]

1 minute ago, thenorthremembers said:

Hes getting the exact rep he should get.    The catch rate is way too low.   At times this year its dipped below 50%.  For context the last year John Brown was here, when the Bills felt like he was regressing and didn't bother bringing him back he was over 60%  same for Emmanuel Sanders last year.

 

Davis is proving that he is at best a guy who be a #2 in short spurts, not a full time #2 you can rely on.  In reality, he is a high end #3 who you let walk after his rookie contract is up.

Sadly this is where he’s trending.  
 

You don’t pay for a high end WR3 in this offense.  
 

What will be interesting with how Buffalo deals with upcoming contracts is do they let people walk or do they trade guys before their deal is up for a pick?

 

Tennessee has two Gabe Davis type players entering this draft.  Both are big play WR’s with high WR2 potential.  I’m hoping we get one of them.  

 

 

[NewEra]

7 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

What about extending Tremaine Edmunds?

His play yesterday confirmed he’s not worth 18m aav

[Mikie2times]

I don't know how WR is not looked at pretty high in the upcoming draft. Perhaps with our #1. The lack of a pure slot WR has shown to really hurt. Davis made his money on go routes, skinny posts, deep shots, then toe tapping on Allen scramble drills. He does not have elite quickness or route running. He's not high end on 50/50 balls. Can he create on his own? The answer is no. We need at least one option outside of Diggs where that is a resounding yes.  

Edited November 25, 2022 by KzooMike

[NewEra]

18 minutes ago, KzooMike said:

I don't know how WR is not looked at pretty high in the upcoming draft. Perhaps with our #1. The lack of a pure slot WR has shown to really hurt. Davis made his money on go routes, skinny posts, deep shots, then toe tapping on Allen scramble drills. He does not have elite quickness or route running. He's not high end on 50/50 balls. Can he create on his own? The answer is no. We need at least one option outside of Diggs where that is a resounding yes.  

Ain’t no doubt about it.

[BADOLBILZ]

50 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

So the expectations were obviously very high coming off that playoff game, but I do think some of the criticism is warranted. The drops are bad, really bad. He’s also not making contested catches. Yesterday he had a play for a touchdown he should have made. He has a step on his guy, the ball is thrown well, and he exited for the ball to get to him instead of extending his arms and securing that ball before the defender had a chance to knock it away. That’s a play I think a lot of people expect a WR2 to make, especially in a close game like it was 

 

 

The drop % and the inability to win contested catch situations are glaring issues.  @dave mcbride correctly pointed out the contested catch situation he won versus Minkah Fitzpatrick.........but generally speaking if the DB is anywhere near the ball he doesn't catch it.    I think part of the issue could be him not knowing what he didn't know about himself last offseason.    Davis had been getting highly favorable matchups for his first two years so he wasn't really having to catch the ball against tight coverage very often.   Maybe his offseason work will be very much about winning despite contact as he seeks that contract.  Ultimately, the Bills just figuratively dropped the ball at the WR position the past two offseasons and that's why we've had to watch Davis play a role he isn't suited for at this point.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by BADOLBILZ

[TheyCallMeAndy]

Plays like Jane.

 

6 drops on the year (10% drop rate)

5 ints when Allen has targeted him.

Has caught 55% of the passes throw his way. 
 

Davis will need a big step up to not be considered replacement level. 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

24 minutes ago, KzooMike said:

I don't know how WR is not looked at pretty high in the upcoming draft. Perhaps with our #1. The lack of a pure slot WR has shown to really hurt. Davis made his money on go routes, skinny posts, deep shots, then toe tapping on Allen scramble drills. He does not have elite quickness or route running. He's not high end on 50/50 balls. Can he create on his own? The answer is no. We need at least one option outside of Diggs where that is a resounding yes.  

 

 

When you have Josh Allen throwing the football.........you don't just want a pure slot receiver.......you want a two stud WR's who can play inside or out.    Then one of them is always in the slot in 3 WR sets and their route tree isn't limited from the slot because they can do it all.    This leaves the other boundary spot for a deep ball specialist like Gabe Davis.