Our second NFL Draft Scouting Report focuses on the guy who might be the first UCF Knights player taken:

Gabe Davis

Photo: Derek Warden

Davis was a local kid who came to UCF from Seminole High and came up under Tre’Quan Smith and Dredrick Snelson to become second all-time at UCF in receiving TDs.

Davis played every game in his freshman campaign in 2017, and was clearly a talented deep threat from the jump, with his impressive size and underrated speed. highlighted by a key 80-yarder at SMU.

With Smith moving on, Davis further established himself as a sophomore, earning All-AAC First Team honors with 10 catches of 20+ yards. His best game was the 31-30 nailbiter at Memphis, where he racked up 128 yards on six catches, including a 75-yard TD.

He then improved on that his junior year, after the departure of Snelson, and became the ace of the Knights’ receiving corps. He recorded five 100-plus-yard games and fice multi-TD games, punctuated by his five-catch, three-touchdown performance against UConn, and a career-high 13 catches for 170 yards at Cincinnati.

Davis sat out the bowl game against Marshall to prepare for the draft.

Measurables

• Position: WR
• Height: 6’3”
• Weight: 213 pounds

Combine Measurements

Per NFL.com:

• 40 time: 4.54
• Bench Press: 14
• Vertical: 35”
• Broad Jump: 124”
• Three-cone: 7.08 seconds
• 20-yard Shuttle: 4.59 seconds

Highlights

Three Good Things

Fundamentals. Gabe can high-point the ball with anyone else out there. He is strong, has great vision, and is as crisp a route-runner as you will see at this level. Just ask Brandon Marshall.

Size. At 6-2 or 6-3, depending on where you look, Davis has the height and the muscle at 213 to handle NFL corners. Nowhere was this more apparent than against Stanford and Cincinnati, as he was clearly the dominant physical player on the outside.

Work ethic. Davis is a quiet, confident type of kid who gets it. He was a key leader in the Knights’ offense in 2019 with Dillon Gabriel still working his way into the lead with the offense. At times when he could have been frustrated (see the Cincy game), he showed extraordinary resilience. He’s not the type of guy you want on the other side of the poker table.

One Not-so-Good Thing

Speed. Davis is just a tad on the slow side for someone his size, not quite being a 6-4 monster. However, as Stanford CB Paulson Adebo found out, he’s not slow by any means, as Davis roasted Adebo for a 38-yard TD in the Knights’ win over the Cardinal. In the right NFL scheme, he could use his size against favorable matchups to gain an advantage.

Best-Case NFL Comparison

Jordy Nelson. Nelson was also 6-2, 217 with a 4.5-ish 40 time when he came out of K-State in 2008. He turned that into 613 catches and 72 TDs over a ten-year career.

Draft Projection

Day two (Round 2/3). Davis doesn’t have the pop to be a first-rounder, but he should be off the board on Day 2. Should he find himself with a West Coast Offense team that can put him in a place to succeed, like the Packers, he could work his way into a solid NFL career.