Gabriel Davis (born April 1, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in unincorporated Orange County, Florida near Orlando, Florida, Orlando. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NC ...

and was selected by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the fourth round of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

. Davis has been nicknamed "Big-Game Gabe" due to his performance in important games.

Early life

Davis attended Seminole High School in

Sanford, Florida Sanford is a city and the county seat of Seminole County, Florida, United States. It is located in Central Florida and its population was 61,051 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical ...

. While there, he played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

. As a senior, he had 69 receptions for 1,347 yards and 17

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, earning him First-team Florida Class 8A All-State honors. He committed to the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

(UCF) to play

College career

As a true freshman at UCF in 2017, Davis played in and started all 13 games, recording 27 receptions for 391 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2018, he started 12 of 13 games and had 53 receptions for 815 yards and seven touchdowns. He returned as a starter his junior year in 2019, catching 72 passes for 1241 yards. After the season, Davis entered the

College statistics

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

2020 season

The

selected Davis in the fourth round with the 128th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Davis signed a four-year, $3.99 million contract, including a $699,000 signing bonus, with the Bills on May 8, 2020. In Week 2, against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, he scored his first professional touchdown on a six-yard reception from

Josh Allen Joshua Patrick Allen (born May 21, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys football, Wyoming Cow ...

. The following week, Davis would catch four passes for a career-high 81 yards. During week four, Davis caught one pass, a 26-yard touchdown from Josh Allen. In Week 12 against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, Davis recorded three catches for 79 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown reception from fellow wide receiver

Cole Beasley Cole Dickson Beasley (born April 26, 1989) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver. He played college football at SMU Mustangs football, Southern Methodist University and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undra ...

during the 27–17 win. Overall, Davis finished his rookie season with 35 receptions for 599 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. During the Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, Davis caught four passes for 85 yards, including two sideline grabs that set up Buffalo's second touchdown, as the Bills won 27–24, their first playoff win in 25 years.

2021 season

In Week 10 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, Davis caught all three of his targets for 105 yards, a season high. Overall in the 2021 season, Davis appeared in 16 games, of which he started four. He had 35 receptions on 63 targets for 539 yards and six touchdowns, as the Bills finished the regular season with a 11–6 record to win the AFC East for a second consecutive season. In the

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is an invitation to a tournament or a playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that does not qualify via an automatic bid. In some events, wildcards ...

, he caught two passes for 41 yards and a touchdown in Buffalo's 47–17 rout of the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. In the Divisional Round against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, Davis had a breakout performance, catching a career-high 201 yards on eight catches, and scoring an NFL record four receiving touchdowns in a playoff game during the 42–36 overtime loss. He became just the ninth player in NFL history to record 200+ receiving yards in a playoff game.

2022 season

During Week 5 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, Davis finished with 171 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Davis had a career-high 98-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter and a one-handed catch for a 62-yard touchdown four drives later as the Bills won 38–3. Davis's 98-yard catch tied the record for longest touchdown reception in franchise history. Davis finished the 2022 season with 48 receptions for 836 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in 15 games. In the

of the playoffs, Davis had six receptions for 113 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 34–31 victory over the Dolphins.

2023 season

Davis was named one of the Bills' captains before the start of the season. In Week 5, against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, Davis had six receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown in the 25–20 loss. The loss was the last game of a four-game stretch for Davis where he scored a touchdown in each game. In Week 16 against the Chargers, he had four receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown in the 24–22 win. He finished the 2023 season with 45 receptions for 746 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 13, 2024, Davis signed a three-year contract for $39 million with the

. for $24 million guaranteed including salary, a $10 million signing bonus and a $10 million option bonus. On November 18, Jaguars coach

Doug Pederson Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who was the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He spent most o ...

announced that Davis would miss the rest of the season due a torn meniscus in his left knee; Davis ended the season with 20 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns. On May 7, 2025, the Jaguars released Davis, likely due to worries about his recovery from injury as well as the good performance of 2024 rookie Brian Thomas Jr and the selection of 2025 first-round pick

Travis Hunter Travis Hunter Jr. (born May 18, 2003) is an American professional football cornerback and wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Jackson State Tigers and Colorado B ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Davis was raised by his mother, Alana Davis. He has two siblings, Jordan and Kayla. Davis grew up an

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

fan, growing up in the

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

area and playing at UCF.

References

External links

UCF Knights bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Gabriel 1999 births Living people Sportspeople from Sanford, Florida Players of American football from Seminole County, Florida American football wide receivers UCF Knights football players Buffalo Bills players 21st-century African-American sportsmen Jacksonville Jaguars players