2021 Gabriel Davis Fantasy Football Player Profile

It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We continue with the wide receivers. We continue with a guy who had an under-the-radar solid rookie season that turned into a breakout in the playoffs. Can 2021 Gabriel Davis cash in the promise of 2020 Gabriel Davis? If he doesn’t, does that even break the bank?

Gabriel Davis ADP and AAV:

Average Draft Position: WR63, Pick 194
Average Auction Value: $literally zero salary! Nothing! (T-RB63)

Gabriel Davis Statistics:

2021 Gabriel Davis Fantasy Football Overview:

Gabriel Davis had a somewhat encouraging rookie year. He ended with a limited volume; just 62 targets in 16 games. But, he had a yards per target of 17.1. This ranks 23rd all-time among rookie wide receivers and 12th since 2010. In 2020, it ranked first among rookie wide receivers, and fifth in the NFL. Davis’ 9.66 yards per target also ranked top-20 and put him above Calvin Ridley, Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, and other star wide receivers.

But, that doesn’t really tell the whole story with Davis. He is more of a deep threat weapon than a true alpha wide receiver. He isn’t a burner, but he does a great job of getting open downfield and put all of his skills on display in the playoffs against the Colts. On back-to-back targets, he made such spectacular sideline catches that the referees had to run it back to see how amazing they were.

The Buffalo Bills let John Brown walk, and replaced him with Emmanuel Sanders. People say that they got Sanders for the John Brown role, but I don’t see it. Maybe 2017 Emmanuel Sanders, but he has an average depth of target under ten in three of his four stops in the last three seasons. Only the 49ers “unleashed” Sanders, with an aDOT of 11.0. Over his two seasons with Buffalo, John Brown had an average depth of target of 13.9 yards downfield. Gabriel Davis’ depth of target in his rookie year sat at 15.2 yards downfield.

Does that sound like the Bills brought in Sanders to replace John Brown, or like the Bills will promote Gabriel Davis to getting more targets as he absorbs John Brown’s responsibilities?

2021 Gabriel Davis Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:

Gabriel Davis Auction Value: $0
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!

The good news is that it’s incredibly easy to find out. I somehow plum forgot about Gabriel Davis in a 12-team league I drafted earlier this week, and he slipped through the cracks entirely. He has a zero-dollar average auction value! That’s how free he is, unless you’re me, people don’t want him. Go get Gabriel Davis! He’s the cheapest bet at a deep upside guy this side of Darnell Mooney.

I really like Gabriel Davis as a fallback option if I whiff on Darnell Mooney. I once poopooed these types of depth receivers, instead going toward the Marvin Jones Jrs of the world. Now, I’m on board with getting a couple of these guys and seeing where the chips fall. There’s no too late to take Gabriel Davis. Just use Darnell Mooney and Mike Williams coming off the board as a signal that you should snatch up Mooney. And maybe, just maybe, you light that signal yourself.

Best Case Scenario:

He develops into the deep threat weapon we all hope and wish Marquez Valdes-Scantling might eventually become. Josh Allen and Gabriel Davis make sweet music and he finishes as a middling WR2.

Worst Case Scenario:

He gets like 10 targets in the first three weeks combined, and you cut him for Flern Sternorrg, a guy you’ve never heard of, but who someone on Twitter called “2021’s James Robinson.”

Check out all our 2021 player profiles, here.

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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]

[Image Source: Gabriel Davis on Twitter]