Gabe Davis appears to anticipate not returning to Buffalo next season as he approaches free agency in March. The Bills wide receiver shared an eight-minute highlight reel on Instagram on Monday, which appears to function as his farewell to “Bills Mafia,” the team’s fanbase.
The video features significant highlights, including his four-touchdown performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 AFC Divisional Round, his 98-yard and 62-yard touchdown receptions against the Steelers in 2022, and snippets of his teammates praising Davis’ work ethic, professionalism, and receiving skills.
The video concludes with a series of screenshots seemingly intended to emphasize Davis’ production during his four years in Buffalo and to suggest that he was underutilized based on those numbers. Davis completed his four years with the Bills, amassing 163 catches for 2,730 yards and 27 touchdowns.
His most impressive season was the 48-catch, 836-yard, seven-touchdown campaign across 15 games in 2022. In Davis’s recent post, he delved into various metrics such as first-down rate, touchdown rate, average depth of target, explosive reception rate, and target rate.
Providing insights into his performance during both regular seasons and playoffs, and how his target rate compared to other players with similar first-down and touchdown production. Notably, the interconnected nature of these metrics becomes apparent. Davis’s elevated average depth of target significantly contributed to his impressive tally of first downs and explosive plays when targeted.
This aspect also elucidates why his catch rate remained around 54.5% across four seasons, never exceeding 56.5% in any single season.
Furthermore, Davis’s 1.41 yards per route run average ranked 50th out of 91 receivers who ran 1,000 or more routes during his four-year NFL tenure, while his yards after catch average placed 60th among the same player group.
Recognized as a reliable deep threat, Davis has successfully collaborated with Josh Allen, generating explosive plays throughout his career. However, Davis appears to aspire to a more substantial role, potentially explaining why he won’t be returning to the Bills.
The Bills’ perception of him as more of a role player, rather than a foundational element of their passing offense, likely influenced his decision.
