Gabe Davis from the Bills shares Instagram reel with stats, possibly bidding farewell to Buffalo

Gabe Davis does not seem like someone who expects to be back in Buffalo next season. The Bills wide receiver is set to hit free agency in March, and on Monday, he posted on Instagram an eight-minute highlight reel that seemed to serve as his goodbye to “Bills Mafia,” the team’s fanbase.

The video includes such notable highlights like his four-touchdown game against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 AFC Divisional Round, his 98-yard and 62-yard touchdown catches against the Steelers in 2022, and clips of his teammates talking up Davis’ work ethic, professionalism, and ability as a receiver. 

The video concludes with a series of screenshots seemingly designed to highlight Davis’ production during his four years in Buffalo, and why those numbers show that he was under-utilized. Davis finished his four years with the Bills with 163 catches for 2,730 yards and 27 touchdowns, with his best season being the 48-catch, 836-yard, seven-touchdown campaign he across 15 games in 2022.

But Davis’ post focused on things like first-down rate, touchdown rate, average depth of target, explosive reception rate, and target rate, both during the regular season and the playoffs, and how his target rate compared to other players with similar first-down and touchdown production.

It’s probably worth noting that those things are connected. Davis’ high average depth of target plays a large role in why he had so many first downs and explosive plays when thrown the ball. It also explains why his catch rate across four seasons 54.5% and never exceeded 56.5% in any individual season. It’s also worth noting that Davis’ 1.41 yards per route run average (per Tru Media) checked in 50th out of 91 receivers who ran 1,000 or more routes during the four years Davis has been in the NFL, while his yards after catch average checked in 60th among the same group of players. 

Davis is a solid deep threat, and has been able to team with Josh Allen to create explosive plays throughout his career. He seems to think that he can do more than that, and that might be why he seemingly won’t be returning to the Bills, who clearly viewed him as more of a role player than someone who can be the foundation of a passing offense.