Zach Davidson (born July 15, 1998) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for 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 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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

Central Missouri Mules The Central Missouri Mules and Jennies are the athletic teams that represent the University of Central Missouri, located in Warrensburg, Missouri, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

(where he played as punter as well) and was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in the fifth round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life

Davidson grew up in

Webb City, Missouri Webb City is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,031 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. Webb City also has a police department, a fire department, and animal ...

and attended

Webb City High School Webb City High School (or WCHS) is a public high school located in Webb City, Missouri, founded in 1877. The school serves students in grades 9 through 12 and is the only traditional high school in the School District of Webb City R-7. Webb City ...

. He was originally a backup tight end on Webb City's junior varsity team, but became the punter for the varsity team after the Cardinals' regular punter was suspended. He was an All-State selection as a junior and senior at punter.

College career

Davidson began his career at Central Missouri solely as a punter and redshirted his true freshman year. As a redshirt freshman, he set a school record and finished second in the nation with 44.3 yards per punt on 47 punts and was named second-team All-

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its fourteen me ...

(MIAA). The following season, Davidson was an honorable mention All-MIAA selection at punter and also served as the Mules second tight end, finishing the season with 11 catches for 239 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He had 40 receptions for 894 Yards and 15 touchdowns in his redshirt junior and was named first-team All-MIAA at both punter and tight end as well as a first-team All-American. Davidson opted to forgo his redshirt senior season, which was to be played in the spring due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, and enter the

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Davidson was selected by the

in the fifth round, 168th overall, of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021. Davidson was released on August 31, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on January 8, 2022. Davidson was waived on August 30, 2022.

Buffalo Bills

On September 1, 2022, Davidson was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 23, 2023. On June 15, 2023, Davidson was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. On August 27, 2024, Davidson was released by the Bills as part of final roster cuts, and re-signed to the practice squad. Davidson was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for the November 17, 2024 game 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 ...

when he recorded his first ever regular season reception in the NFL. He was elevated to fill in for Dalton Kincaid who was out for the November 17 game due to a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury. Davidson was again elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for the December 1, 2024 game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He would be elevated to the active roster for the third and last time in the 2024 season for the game against the

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

on December 8, 2024, at

SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium ( ) is a domed multi-purpose stadium in Inglewood, California, U.S., a suburb of Los Angeles. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack and neighbors the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome. Opened in September 2020, the ...

where he failed to log any stats while playing 16 offensive snaps and 16 snaps on special teams. On January 29, 2025, Davidson signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bills.

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioCentral Missouri Mules bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Zach 1998 births Living people American football punters American football tight ends Central Missouri Mules football players People from Webb City, Missouri Players of American football from Missouri Minnesota Vikings players Buffalo Bills players