Sunday night’s AFC Divisional Round matchup between the Bills and Chiefs will go down as one of the greatest games… ever. From the 25 points scored in the final 1:54 to Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes combining for eight total touchdowns, there was a laundry list of items that we could spend an hour on.
But, even in a game where Tyreek Hill snagged 11 receptions for 150 yards and a score, Gabriel Davis was the player who exploded and shattered a playoff record along the way. The second-year wideout collected eight of his 10 targets for a whopping 201 yards and a playoff record four touchdown receptions. A weekly staple of our waiver wire and streamer articles, Davis’ 2022 fantasy outlook is set to sky-rocket following the legendary performance.
“Gabe was making some unbelievable catches out there,” Allen said after the game. “Obviously four touchdowns, I think he went eight for 200 and something. That’s video game numbers.”
Davis is known as a deep ball master, but throughout the season he showed he could also be a red zone monster and an intermediate route runner. On 4th-and-13 when his team needed him the most, he utterly dismantled a poor corner’s ankles en route to his fourth score of the night.
Davis was a hot sleeper candidate prior to the season, but when the Bills added veteran Emmanuel Sanders to the receiver room, his fantasy outlook slipped. Luckily for Davis, Sanders did not make it through all 17 games and he was able to flourish at times when Sanders was out of the lineup.
Davis was able to be a PrizePicks “over” lock and a fantasy streamer during the stretch run where he scored four touchdowns over his final five games and nine touchdowns over his final seven games (including the playoffs). Allen clearly trusted the wideout, targeting him seven-plus times in four of his last six games — highlighted by 14 and 10 target games.
With the aging Sanders set to be an unrestricted free agent, Davis has a chance to explode across from Stefon Diggs in 2022 and beyond. Davis proved he could pick up the slack when Diggs and Cole Beasley face double teams, as they did throughout the matchup against the Chiefs.
“When your number is called, you have to make the play,” Davis said after the game. “I knew it was going to be a night like that, especially knowing we have guys like Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley that will be getting doubled more often than I would. So, I was just prepared for anything coming my way and I was able to, again, make the most of the plays that were called.”
Get ready for the Gabe Davis hype train because it’s going to be loud all summer long. Expect The Wolf to give Davis a massive boost on his 2022 Fantasy Football Rankings & Big Board.