Bills' RB Ray Davis: Buffalo's No. 20 Player Aims for Bigger Role in Year 3

As the team enjoys its summer break, Bills On SI will unveil its Top 25 Player Rankings (based upon expected impact) for the 2026 season. Running back and All-Pro return specialist Ray Davis comes in at No. 20.

The Buffalo Bills have a multitude of offensive weapons for head coach Joe Brady to use. Many of these players have carved out niches in this offense, and a strong stable of running backs is no exception.

Ray Davis is another undervalued player because of his versatility, and he'll play a key role for Buffalo as it searches for its first Super Bowl.

Why is Davis so important?

When Ray Davis had the most ELECTRIC kick return touchdown last season⚡️#BillsMafia #Bills #GoBills pic.twitter.com/UbkIeab1RM
— Smitty Talks Bills (@NickSmitty3) June 7, 2026

At 5-foot-8, 220 pounds, Davis is a punishing runner with strong vision and an ability to hit the hole hard. His average of 2.5 yards per rush before contact in 2025, which is just about league average, proves that he has a strong case to improve even further given that he's only 26 years old.

If he wants to improve, he'll have to touch the ball more often, something he has clamored for after receiving only 68 touches in 2025 compared to 130 in his rookie season in 2024, despite improving his yards per touch by 0.4 yards.

Davis' expertise expanded to special teams in 2025, as he became an All-Pro returner by leading the NFL with 30.4 yards per kickoff return. The icing on the cake was a 97-yard touchdown return against the Houston Texans in Week 12.

Davis' background

Oct 13, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Bills running back Ray Davis (22) runs after the catch for a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Davis' story is one of the most inspiring on the Bills, which began in his childhood. He was part of a group of 14 siblings in San Francisco, spending his time in foster care with his parents incarcerated, a story that'll be shown on the big screen with Breakaway Ray, a Crossroads Productions film.

Davis got a role model in Patrick Dowley through the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America Program. In high school in New York and New Jersey, he shone on the football field, rumbling for 4,815 yards and 48 touchdowns.

Davis played at three universities, starting at Temple, where he made Pro Football Focus' All-Freshman Team in 2019. After 2020, he transferred to Vanderbilt, where he bounced back from an injury to break out in 2022 with 1,042 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

2023 was Davis' swan song, and was it a beautiful one. With Kentucky, he ran for 1,129 yards and led the SEC with 21 total touchdowns, and he earned first-team All-SEC honors, parlaying it into being selected in the fourth round at No. 128 overall by Buffalo, with whom he has become a key player.

The rest of the Top 25 so far

25. RB Ty Johnson, June 16
24. CB Maxwell Hairston, June 17
23. K Tyler Bass, June 18
22. CB Dee Alford, June 19
21. LB Dorian Williams, June 20

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