As the 2023 NFL offseason goes on, teams around the leagues are making bold moves. The Buffalo Bills haven’t been one of those teams so far. As NFL trades go down around the league, the Bills need to make some moves to keep pace with the teams in their division. A Bills trade that makes sense is sending wide receiver Gabriel Davis to the New York Giants.
Bills trade Gabriel Davis to the Giants
In 2020, the Bills used their fourth-round pick to take wide receiver Gabriel Davis out of UCF. The wideout had a nice rookie season, with 35 catches for 599 yards and seven touchdowns.
Davis didn’t progress all that much in year two, though, again catching 35 balls for 549 yards and six touchdowns. However, in the AFC Championship game, the WR had a massive night against the Kansas City Chiefs, putting up eight catches for 201 yards and four touchdowns.
This performance had the Bills organization and its fans thinking that 2023 would be Davis’ breakout season where he became a true No. 1 or 1A to Stefon Diggs.
That didn’t happen, though.
Davis did improve in 2023. He had 48 catches for 836 yards and seven touchdowns. The WR also had some big drops in crucial situations, which cost the Bills not just drives, but games as well.
Gabe Davis turns 24 on April 1, so he is still young. But the Bills don’t have time to wait around for him to figure things out. Plus, Davis is a big play, deep route receiver, and that’s not what Josh Allen needs in his No. 1. Diggs has enough of that in his game, and Davis’ deep routes often bait Allen into taking shots he doesn’t need to take.
While he’s not a great fit for the Bills right now, that doesn’t mean Davis isn’t still a good WR and a high-end prospect. A team with a less aggressive QB and a younger roster would be a great fit if a Bills trade sent Gabriel Davis elsewhere.
And that’s where Davis’ former offensive coordinator and current Giants head coach Brian Daboll comes in.
One reason this NFL trade makes sense in the 2023 NFL offseason is that Daboll worked well with Davis before. He was the Buffalo OC when the WR got off to a nice start in his career and the architect of that incredible playoff game against the Chiefs.
And on the other side of New York State (really New Jersey), Daboll has a younger roster in a different stage of development. The Giants aren’t necessarily in “win a Super Bowl now mode” like the Bills are. They can have a little more patience with Davis.
Also, the Giants are devoid of wide receivers. New York signed Parris Campbell and brought back Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepherd, but they don’t have a true No. 1. At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds with physicality, speed, and athleticism, Gabriel Davis could become that guy.
On the Buffalo side, the reason this Bills trade makes sense is that 2022 proved that Gabriel Davis just isn’t a fit with Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. The team needs a more well-rounded receiver to help Allen and play opposite Diggs.
If the Bills can get a second or third-rounder this NFL offseason from the Giants for Davis, the team can use that pick to take a wideout who is better in the Bills offense. Cedric Tillman from Tennessee, A.T. Perry from Wake Forest, or CJ Johnson from East Carolina could be fits if that is the case.
Buffalo could also use this Bills trade to move up in the first round.
While Jaxson Smith-Njigba from Ohio State and Quentin Johnston from TCU won’t be on the board when the Bills pick at No. 27, trading Davis — to the Giants for a pick or another team — could help them move up on Round 1 and take one of those WRs if the Bills’ talent evaluators fall in love with one of them.
No matter how the Bills decide to use their bounty from a Gabriel Davis trade, the fact remains that it is a move they should make this offseason. Buffalo needs to quickly move on from things that aren’t working, and Davis is one of those things.
With the AFC improving by the hour this NFL offseason, the Bills need to tweak things in the areas they can in order to stay near the top of the pack. And to get to the top of the pack — where they haven’t been yet — they need to make some bold moves like this Bills trade.
Follow Us
Subscribe