Central Florida wide receiver Gabriel Davis is coming off of a fantastic junior season in which he snagged a dozen touchdown passes. After opting to forgo his senior season, Davis finds himself as an intriguing risk-reward prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 198 pounds
40 time: 4.54 seconds
After starting 13 games as a true freshman in 2017, Davis would go on to earn first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors as a sophomore, a feat he replicated thanks to his dominant junior 2019 season.
Table: Gabriel Davis NCAA stats (2017-19)
|
Year
|
Team
|
Rec
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
TD
|
Long
|
|
2017
|
UCF
|
27
|
391
|
14.5
|
4
|
80
|
|
2018
|
UCF
|
53
|
815
|
15.4
|
7
|
75
|
|
2019
|
UCF
|
72
|
1,241
|
17.2
|
12
|
73
|
Pros
- Long-armed frame with a big catch radius
- Natural hands catcher and rarely allows the ball to get into his body
- Impeccable body control in traffic — easily his best attribute
- Improved across the board statistically throughout his collegiate career
- Vertical threat with the ability to challenge defenders down the field — ball-tracking skills are on par with the best wideouts of this class
- Noticeably talented with hand placement and strength in short area to create separation against smaller defenders one on one
- Athletic enough to pull off convincing double moves and has enough burst to get out of breaks efficiently
- “Gets it” in jump-ball situations — obviously understands body placement, timing, and vertical extension techniques
- Quality effort blocker whose frame and functional strength should promote growth as a pro
- Considerable upside with the proper coaching around him
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Cons
- May struggle to gain separation consistently in the NFL, especially vs. cornerbacks near his size and strength
- Doesn’t always play hard or with consistency when he isn’t involved in the play — needs to prove he is competitive enough for the NFL
- Lacks explosiveness and could struggle to be as much of a big-play guy in the pros as he was at UCF
- Can get wasteful with his footwork early in routes and coming into breaks — certainly fixable with proper coaching
Fantasy football outlook
Despite all of Davis’ success in college, and his consistent upward trajectory in the box scores, he is somewhat of a project at the next level.
Most prognosticators place a third-round grade on Davis, but he could go slightly higher or lower, depending upon system fit and the like. It is tough to envision him making a substantial difference as a rookie, and fantasy footballers should tuck his name away as a player to watch develop throughout the season. Davis’ has the makings of being a seldomly used situation player in Year 1.