Greg Brainos called Ray Davis a smash late-round pick while James Cook skips offseason work in search of a new deal. Brainos noted veteran hold-outs almost always report before Week 1, but the missed practice time frequently leads to conditioning issues or soft-tissue tweaks that delay full workloads in September. Davis is already drawing rave reviews for his pass-catching polish—something Josh McDaniels covets—and Brainos believes he could handle 12–14 touches immediately if Cook’s reintegration is rocky. Given Buffalo’s league-high red-zone rush rate the past two seasons, Brainos sees Davis as a high-leverage handcuff whose value would spike with even a brief Cook setback.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound labeled rookie Ray Davis a "good pick right now" in the 140s overall because James Cook’s contract standoff gives Davis multiple outs to smash. Cook reportedly wants $15-plus million annually and could follow his brother Dalvin’s past hold-out blueprint. Pat noted that even a trade demand would thrust Davis into sizeable early-season work, and the market isn’t fully accounting for that contingency. With cook uncertainty driving Buffalo backfield volatility, Pat aims for roughly 17-20 percent Davis exposure, calling him a priority late dart who can pay off through a Cook hold-in, injury, or red-zone role expansion.

Davis Mattek said Ray Davis is the exact kind of anti-fragile running back he wants in Underdog’s Eliminator. Mattek reminded listeners that running-back breakouts are driven by opportunity, not talent, and noted Davis would vault into 15-20 touches a week the moment James Cook or Ty Johnson misses time. That injury path also creates a mini-correlation with Josh Allen: fewer healthy backs means more designed QB runs and check-downs, so a single Bills injury turbo-charges two roster spots at once. Because late-round wideouts rarely crack starting lineups, Mattek prefers betting on Davis’ contingent volume in an offense that finished top-5 in red-zone snaps three straight seasons. He grabbed Davis as his RB5 and called him "the easiest fragility bet on the board."

Davis Mattek staked his flag on Ray Davis, calling the 27-year-old rookie a slam-dunk value because "James Cook leading the NFL in touchdowns on <50% of snaps is so non-repeatable." Mattek reminded listeners that when Cook missed time last year, Ty Johnson paper-started but Davis handled the money touches. Buffalo ranked third in expected RB fantasy points inside the 10-yard line, yet Cook ceded 62% of those looks. Mattek believes the Bills want a thumper to finish drives and sees Davis’s three-down profile—he posted a 17% college target share—as a perfect fit. If Cook slides back to pass-down specialist, Mattek projects 225 touches for Davis and double-digit TD upside, making him an ideal mid-round swing in Best Ball tournaments.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound revealed he is sitting at 23.5 % exposure to rookie Ray Davis—nearly triple the current field—and thinks that stance is “just correct right now.” His thesis: ongoing FUD around James Cook’s goal-line usage and Buffalo’s public flirtations with veteran power backs make Davis the most likely beneficiary if the Bills pivot to a two-back rotation. Pat highlighted Davis’s 1,800 scrimmage yards and SEC-leading 21 TDs last season at Kentucky, plus Buffalo’s league-high 17 inside-the-five rush attempts in 2023. At a final-round price tag, Davis offers a live path to red-zone work on a top-five scoring offense while still providing unique advance-rate leverage if Cook falters or gets dinged.

Pete Overzet said his only regret from the live draft was taking Rhamondre Stevenson at pick 130 instead of reaching almost 20 spots for rookie Ray Davis, who ultimately went at 148. Because the roster already featured Josh Allen, Overzet wanted the cheap Buffalo correlation and believes Davis’s role in a high-powered offense gives him tournament-winning upside that compensates for the reach. With drafters increasingly hunting for late-season Bills stacks, he expects Davis’s ADP to tighten, so he is comfortable grabbing the rookie a full round ahead of current consensus whenever he anchors an Allen build.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound declared Ray Davis his favorite last-round running-back dart, ranking him ahead of 49ers rookie Isaac Guerendo. Pat highlighted Davis’s ball-security (zero fumbles on 593 collegiate touches) and workhorse résumé—he posted a 1,129-yard, 14-TD senior season at Kentucky while handling 21.5 touches per game. Buffalo spent Day-3 capital on Davis despite already having James Cook, which Pat reads as a sign they want a downhill hammer for red-zone and cold-weather games. Davis needs only a minor injury to Cook—or a coaching decision to keep Cook in his high-efficiency receiving role—to inherit 12-15 carries on one of the league’s highest-scoring offenses. By contrast, Guerendo would still be behind Christian McCaffrey and possibly Elijah Mitchell even if CMC misses time. Pat’s takeaway: make Davis your go-to RB6 in three-RB builds because his path to meaningful volume is much cleaner than other backs in the 17th-round range.

Eric Luttrell flagged rookie Ray Davis as the best late-round handcuff on the board. With chatter that James Cook could stage a mini-holdout over his rookie-scale contract and the Bills opting not to draft another back, Eric sees Buffalo boxed into extending Cook or elevating someone from within. At 215 pounds Davis profiles as the goal-line complement Cook never was, and Cook’s 195-pound frame plus a heavy 246-touch workload last season leaves legitimate injury risk. Eric wants at least 15 percent exposure before Davis’ price spikes once beat writers start noting a two-back committee in early-July practices.