The Kentucky Wildcats haven’t had a running back drafted in the top 100 picks of the NFL Draft since Artose Pinner in 2003. Could Ray Davis be the first in two decades?
What does Davis’ NFL Draft outlook look like, and can he make an impact for an NFL franchise?
Ray Davis Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 5’8″
- Weight: 220 pounds
- Position: RB
- School: Kentucky
- Current year: Senior
- Hand: 9 1/8″
- Arm: 29 7/8″
- Wingspan: 72 3/8″
A highly productive running back recruit out of New Jersey, Davis rushed for 4,815 yards and 59 touchdowns on 375 carries. Davis also tallied 80 tackles and six interceptions over his four years as a defensive back in high school. He also participated in basketball, baseball, and track to add to his impressive athletic background.
Davis signed with the Temple Owls out of high school and immediately made an impact, playing in every game as a freshman. He ran for 905 yards and seven touchdowns that season.
After rushing for 1,218 yards and eight touchdowns at Temple, Davis transferred to Vanderbilt. Unfortunately, his first season with Vanderbilt ended with a season-ending knee injury just three games in.
Yet, he would rebound to rush for 1,042 yards and five scores and become just the 10th Commodore to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.
Davis transferred to Kentucky for his final campaign and had immediate success with the Wildcats, rushing for 1,129 yards and 14 rushing TDs. He earned a second-team All-American spot and was named first-team All-SEC.
Davis became the first active player in Division I to chart 1,000 rushing yards at three different schools — Temple, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky. He also became the first player in SEC history to gain 1,000 or more rushing yards at two different SEC programs.
Davis’ Scouting Report
Games Watched: Florida (2023), Georgia (2023), Missouri (2023), Tennessee (2023), Alabama (2023), Clemson (2023)
Strengths
- Superb vision out of the backfield; manipulates second-level defender
- Trusts his blocking up front and doesn’t often freelance runs
- Displayed good jump-cut ability to shift lanes if needed
- Controlled runner, calm and stays square and balanced
- Good feel operating out in space
- Very good contact balance
- Takes multiple defenders to bring him down
- Falls forward through initial contact
- Very little wasted movement setting up runs, decisiveness in spades
- Reliable receiving option on checkdowns
- Shown ability to run routes; will need to be expanded
- More than ready to stick his nose into blitz pick-up
- Just two fumbles in last two seasons
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t have burst to consistently outrun speedy linebackers
- More likely to square up and punish rather than string moves together to break tackles
- Lacks lateral quickness to make defenders miss out in space often
- Burst is only adequate; can take him a few steps to get to full speed
- Season-ending knee injury in past
- Already close to a thousand attempts in college
Current Draft Projection and Summary
The running back positional value argument is well-documented at this point, and it makes trying to figure out where Davis’ draft stock will end up a challenge.
It is ironic that every team wants a back like Davis to be able to consistently help pick up short yardage and move the chains, but nobody wants to draft them. Davis’ contact balance, decisiveness, and vision as a run will make him a coveted part of a committee in the NFL.
MORE: Top RBs in the 2024 NFL Draft
Add in his ability as a third-down back as a willing and smart pass protector with good receiving ability, and Davis has a truly well-rounded skill set to be a productive NFL-caliber running back.
His only limitations are purely athletic, as Davis lacks the long speed, acceleration, and change of direction skills to be one of the top-flight runners in the NFL. I will be curious to see how the NFL handles the tread on his tires with five years of carries in college.
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