Gabe Davis contract details: Former Bills receiver set to sign three-year deal with Jaguars

Gabe Davis was once viewed as the future No. 2 wide receiver in Buffalo, just below Stefon Diggs on the depth chart. He's now leaving the Bills for greener pastures following the conclusion of his rookie contract.

Davis is set to sign a three-year, $39 million deal with the Jaguars, giving Jacksonville a young but experienced player to bolster its receiving corps.

The 2020 fourth-round pick was universally viewed as a breakout candidate heading into 2022 after he had a major impact on the '21 postseason. Though Davis had his two best seasons in receiving yards in '22 and '23, he often struggled to get open and did not take the major step forward many expected of him.

Still, Davis should bring plenty of value to Jacksonville. He will only be 25 in 2024, and he ranks 40th in receiving yards since his NFL debut.

Here's what you need to know about his contract.

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Gabe Davis contract details

Davis is set to sign a three-year, $39 million contract with Jaguars. This was Davis' first time testing free agency after the conclusion of his rookie contract, and his new deal can reportedly reach $50 million with incentives, per The Athletic's Dianna Russini.

As a fourth-round pick in 2020, Davis signed a four-year, $3.9 million deal with close to a $700,000 signing bonus. 

The Jaguars have watched Calvin Ridley head to free agency, and now appear likely to allow him to walk. So Davis will likely pair with Christian Kirk to form the top two receivers for Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars.

Two years ago, Kirk signed a surprising four-year, $72 million contract with the Jaguars. He had 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns in the first year of his deal, though he had just 57 catches for 787 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games in his second year of the contract.

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Gabe Davis stats

Davis proved to be a consistently inconsistent receiver through his first four years in the NFL. He did reach at least 500 receiving yards, 35 receptions, and six touchdowns in each season of his career, but he also has yet to reach 1,000 yards and he has not exceeded the 836 receiving yards from his 2022 campaign.

The former Buffalo No. 2 receiver has had drop issues, with PFF charting drop rates of at least 8.2% each season in the NFL. He also averaged only 1.34 yards per route run in 2023, a dropoff from 1.47 in '22 and 2.03 in '21.

Davis is best known for his monster AFC divisional-round performance against the Chiefs in the 2021-22 postseason. He caught eight passes for 201 yards and four TDs, including what looked like the game-winner with 13 seconds left. But Kansas City rallied quickly for a field goal and won in overtime.

Now with Jacksonville, the 6-2 big-play specialist will look to make good on all of his tantalizing promise. 

Gabe Davis fantasy outlook 2024

Jacksonville is seemingly the perfect spot for Davis. Christian Kirk and Evan Engram will likely remain Trevor Lawrence's top targets, but Davis will be free to roam secondaries in mostly single coverage. With a big-armed QB and pass-happy offense that attempted the sixth most passes per game last year, Davis should command a decent chunk of Calvin Ridley's 136 targets from last season. Davis' previous career high in targets is 93, so even with a similar number, he can easily post WR3 numbers again, especially if he remains as durable as he has through his first four seasons.

A lot of that sounds similar to his situation in Buffalo where he consistently came up short of expectations, but the extra pass attempts and targets are the key. Buffalo wasn't exactly a "run-first" team, but Josh Allen's scrambling ability led to consistently fewer attempts than what we've seen from Trevor Lawerence under Doug Pederson. A change of scenery should do Davis good, but fantasy owners likely won't have to pay extra for him in their 2024 drafts. Take advantage. — Matt Lutovsky