Gabe Davis, rising star and generally Good Guy

[TBBills]

Diggs, Davis, Sanders, McKenzie

Should be a good WR group.

 

[Warcodered]

1 hour ago, TBBills said:

Diggs, Davis, Sanders, McKenzie

Should be a good WR group.

 

And Hodgins was looking good in camp last year.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 hours ago, TBBills said:

Diggs, Davis, Sanders, McKenzie

Should be a good WR group.

 

I see what you did there

[Rocky Landing]

27 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

And Hodgins was looking good in camp last year.

I feel like a lot of fans have a sort of "carry over" excitement about Hodgins from the scant information we heard about him in last season's abbreviated training camp. But, I'm not sure Beane, or McD have any more invested in that sixth round pick, than they do in this season's sixth round pick, Stevenson. 

 

I think that after Diggs, Sanders, Beasley (assuming he doesn't tweet his way out of a job), Davis, and McKenzie, there's a handful of WRs competing for  a hopeful sixth spot. In fact, it's certainly not out of the question that the Bills only carry five-- like if Christian Wade became the K/P returner (hey, it could happen...!). Maybe there would be two spots if Beasley doesn't knock it off, but I'm not sure I would put Hodgins on top of that list:

Stevenson: Fast, possible K/P return candidate. Sixth rounder in an historically deep class.

Gentry: Don't sleep on this guy-- Josh Allen loves him, "strongest hands of anyone I know..." He's all over Josh's Wyoming highlight reel.

Hodgins: Was talked up quite a bit in '20 TC (what there was of it), but missed all of 2020 on IR. Shoulder surgery in December.

Kumerow: One of two remaining WRs to earn meaningful snaps in a Bills uniform. Aaron Rodgers talked him up when he was a Packer.

D. Williams: The other remaining WR to play in meaningful games. This board has all but written him off, but... he is still on the team.

 

[purple haze]

On 7/23/2021 at 12:14 PM, SCBills said:

He was a big time deep threat at UCF.  
 

Gabe doesn’t have the blazing speed that a healthy John Brown has, but he has the knack for setting people up and beating them down the field.   
 

And we already know he can win contested throws. 

His game speed might be faster than his 40 time.

[Motorin']

9 hours ago, purple haze said:

His game speed might be faster than his 40 time.

 

To me, if you mixed Andre Reed and Eric Moulds you'd get Gabriel Davis. All three are 6'2". Davis is smooth like Reed, not quite as fast but 20 pounds bigger. He's strong like Moulds but not quite as big. 

 

Super bright future, and Davis had the best rookie season between the three. 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

Davis really has a great opportunity in front of him. To grow into the role of a dominant WR in this league right along with Allen. He is an important piece to the Bills long term plans. Well before all the Beasley/vaccine stuff I felt Beasley would take a big step back in production this year. His production being replaced from a combination of Sanders and Davis receiving more targets.

[DaggersEOD]

On 7/23/2021 at 12:50 PM, OldTimer1960 said:

I think 40 time is a gauge, but sometimes doesn’t accurately describe speed.  The difference between a decent and great start can be .1-.2seconds.  In live play, DBs don’t really start until the WR starts and then the race is down to how fast do you really run instead of who gets out of the blocks faster.

 

Inverse seems to be true for pass rushers where quick start over OL is probably more an advantage than pure speed.

 

Just my $.02 worth…

And there’s football speed vs sprinters speed. 
 

I think it’d be more useful if the combine was in full pads. Then the 40 time would be a more effective measurement. 
 

Come on kickoff!!!

[purple haze]

11 hours ago, Motorin' said:

 

To me, if you mixed Andre Reed and Eric Moulds you'd get Gabriel Davis. All three are 6'2". Davis is smooth like Reed, not quite as fast but 20 pounds bigger. He's strong like Moulds but not quite as big. 

 

Super bright future, and Davis had the best rookie season between the three. 

I hear you.  I don’t disagree.  I think he’s faster than most folks think though.  Reed wasn’t considered “fast” either at first.  Then he started beating people deep and taking short passes to the house and the narrative changed.  
 

Not being a burner doesn’t mean not fast enough to play the long game.

[Motorin']

25 minutes ago, purple haze said:

I hear you.  I don’t disagree.  I think he’s faster than most folks think though.  Reed wasn’t considered “fast” either at first.  Then he started beating people deep and taking short passes to the house and the narrative changed.  
 

Not being a burner doesn’t mean not fast enough to play the long game.

 

For sure. Andre was clocked at 4.4 though. Moulds was a 4.52 guy. All of them could take the top off.

 

Loved Reed's crossing passes to the house tho. He could do it all.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Good article on Gabe from Marcel L-J.  Assembles a lot of quotes and soundbites we've seen elsewhere, but it's nice to see them all put together in an easy read

 

https://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/36195/will-buffalo-bills-gabriel-davis-take-next-step-stefon-diggs-believes-so

 

I hadn't realized Davis led the league last year in Y/R:

Quote

After leading NFL rookies by averaging 17.1 yards per catch during his 599-yard season, the Central Florida product has continued to impress throughout spring practices and the first week of training camp.

 

One of the most valuable things Davis seems to have done is to get veterans like Diggs invested in his development and actively trying to help him improve:

Quote

"I tell him all the time now -- 'let me see it,'" Diggs said. "'Last year, you did play pretty well. You did have some success, but there's a lot more football for you and there's a lot more you can obtain, a lot more things you can do better.'

 

"So let me see that this next year, making that second-year jump."

 

 

[foreboding]

As a rookie, he knew every position. That isn't luck, is it? I think he will have a long, productive career. That is a decent human, is awesome.

[BADOLBILZ]

On 7/25/2021 at 1:41 PM, Motorin' said:

 

For sure. Andre was clocked at 4.4 though. Moulds was a 4.52 guy. All of them could take the top off.

 

Loved Reed's crossing passes to the house tho. He could do it all.

 

 

Anyone who saw #83 leave Darrell Green behind in that game in Buffalo knows that there is no caveat to Andre Reed being the greatest WR in Bills history.   

 

 

[dave mcbride]

4 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Good article on Gabe from Marcel L-J.  Assembles a lot of quotes and soundbites we've seen elsewhere, but it's nice to see them all put together in an easy read

 

https://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/36195/will-buffalo-bills-gabriel-davis-take-next-step-stefon-diggs-believes-so

 

I hadn't realized Davis led the league last year in Y/R:

 

He didn't lead the league in Y/R reception last year; he led all rookies. He finished fourth overall behind Valdez-Scantling, Agholor, and DJ Moore: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2020/receiving.htm. 

 

One other thing to factor in, and I don't mean to denigrate him: he had 2 catches for 107 yards from Matt Barkley in the deepest depths of garbage time in the season finale vs. Miami. He had his first catch in that game when it was 35-13 in the 4th quarter. He was averaging 14.9 ypr going into that game, which is still good. That said, the fourth quarter of the finale skewed his stats a bit. 

[Rochesterfan]

On 7/25/2021 at 9:59 AM, DaggersEOD said:

And there’s football speed vs sprinters speed. 
 

I think it’d be more useful if the combine was in full pads. Then the 40 time would be a more effective measurement. 
 

Come on kickoff!!!

 

I also think it would be better if they had a cut in there for the guys - so you can really see a realistic 40 time.  Pads and a route.

[LeGOATski]

15 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

I also think it would be better if they had a cut in there for the guys - so you can really see a realistic 40 time.  Pads and a route.

Coaches/scouts already see the players in pads and how they run routes at college games and on film.

 

The combine is all about gathering data on straight up athleticism. It's an entirely different set of raw metrics. They're trying to combine all different factors to gain a complete picture of the player during the whole scouting process. If the combine was in pads, it would be redundant.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

29 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

He didn't lead the league in Y/R reception last year; he led all rookies. He finished fourth overall behind Valdez-Scantling, Agholor, and DJ Moore: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2020/receiving.htm. 

 

One other thing to factor in, and I don't mean to denigrate him: he had 2 catches for 107 yards from Matt Barkley in the deepest depths of garbage time in the season finale vs. Miami. He had his first catch in that game when it was 35-13 in the 4th quarter. He was averaging 14.9 ypr going into that game, which is still good. That said, the fourth quarter of the finale skewed his stats a bit. 

 

I Hear Ya, but it’s entirely possible “garbage time” stats skewed the others as well

 

If a guy doesn’t have that many receptions, just 1-2 long passes or catch-and-runs can skew his stats

 

[Rochesterfan]

2 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

Coaches/scouts already see the players in pads and how they run routes at college games and on film.

 

The combine is all about gathering data on straight up athleticism. It's an entirely different set of raw metrics. They're trying to combine all different factors to gain a complete picture of the player during the whole scouting process. If the combine was in pads, it would be redundant.

 

 I hear ya - but if you listen to Gabe talk after practice you hear the issue with that.

 

He ran a 4.5 forty time, but talks about runner better in pads and how playing football - he can run full routes at that speed, but because they run the 40 straight ahead and without pads - he was considered slower as a receiver.

 

He saw guys that ran 4.3 in shorts that on the field he was faster than because of how he runs and his build.  
 

The tape shows him getting open in college and we saw it in the pros, but the 40 time suggests he would struggle as he is not faster than the DBs.  In reality because he is just as fast in pads and very fluid - he looks better in games that doing an athletic challenge for the combine.

 

The fact that they do things not in pads makes most of the combine irrelevant as the film is still a better judge of their ability.  

[LeGOATski]

6 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

 I hear ya - but if you listen to Gabe talk after practice you hear the issue with that.

 

He ran a 4.5 forty time, but talks about runner better in pads and how playing football - he can run full routes at that speed, but because they run the 40 straight ahead and without pads - he was considered slower as a receiver.

 

He saw guys that ran 4.3 in shorts that on the field he was faster than because of how he runs and his build.  
 

The tape shows him getting open in college and we saw it in the pros, but the 40 time suggests he would struggle as he is not faster than the DBs.  In reality because he is just as fast in pads and very fluid - he looks better in games that doing an athletic challenge for the combine.

 

The fact that they do things not in pads makes most of the combine irrelevant as the film is still a better judge of their ability.  

Based on the rest of your post, I don't think you really heard me 😄

[Rochesterfan]

4 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

Based on the rest of your post, I don't think you really heard me 😄

 

I heard ya - and disagree - and my point was reinforced just today by the guy talked about in the thread during his interview after practice.