With Calvin Ridley presumably going elsewhere, the Jaguars’ WR room had a sizable hole to fill. Jacksonville didn’t waste time filling in the gaps, signing Gabe Davis to a three-year deal within two hours of the tampering window opening on Monday. Today, we’ll break down this move from a fantasy perspective.
GABE DAVIS
Old ranking: 140th overall on Underdog
New ranking: 130th overall
- The Bills were lacking at WR last year besides Stefon Diggs. Davis played basically every snap for Buffalo and managed just a 14.0% target share on 0.15 targets per route run. He hasn’t proven himself as an efficient target earner, but he can make big plays down the field, as illustrated by his career 16.7 yards-per-reception mark and the fact that he’s scored at least six touchdowns in every season of his professional career. With Christian Kirk (10.7-yard average depth of target in 2023) and Evan Engram (5.0) primarily operating in the underneath and intermediate areas of the field, the Jaguars needed someone who could keep opposing defenses honest. Enter Davis.
- If Ridley is gone, Davis will have the vertical role all to himself. That will make him a frustrating player in redraft leagues where you have to set a lineup each week, but he’s an interesting asset in best ball since he should have a couple of spike weeks throughout the season. Basically, Gabe Davis in Jacksonville will be similar to Gabe Davis in Buffalo.
OTHER JAGUARS PLAYERS
- This is good news for Kirk and Engram if the Jaguars don’t add another WR. Davis isn’t going to command a high target share but will take the top off the defense enough to open up underneath routes. Engram’s 23.1% target share led all tight ends last year and Kirk out-targeted Ridley 84-76 before getting injured in Week 13. Engram’s targets are not valuable individually given his insanely low aDOT and lack of a red-zone role, but that target volume is still desirable in PPR formats.
- If Ridley re-signs, this will be an incredibly crowded WR room and Zay Jones would likely be let go. It seems like the Jaguars are fine letting Ridley walk, but you never really know. It’s something to monitor, as Ridley signing elsewhere and the Jaguars not adding another WR through free agency or the draft would catapult Kirk way up the ranks.
BILLS PLAYERS
- The Bills will likely look to add at WR with Davis out of town given they were already weak at the position behind Diggs with him on the roster. Khalil Shakir proved himself as a legit NFL weapon during the second half of the 2023 season, and the decision to let Davis walk displays some trust in him as potentially their WR2 moving forward. We’ll see if they add anyone in free agency or the draft. It’s also worth noting they could continue with Diggs and Shakir as their starting WRs and Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox both on the field in 2-TE sets, but even if that’s the case, they have to add someone at WR because they are uncomfortably thin at wideout after Shakir.
