Ray Davis (American football)

Re'Mahn Walter Zhamar Jamar Davis (born November 20, 1999) is an American professional football running back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Temple Owls, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Kentucky Wildcats.

Ray Davis

No. 22 – Buffalo Bills
Position:	Running back
Personal information
Born:	(1999-11-20) November 20, 1999 (age 25) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	Trinity-Pawling (Pawling, New York) Blair Academy (Blairstown, New Jersey)
College:	Temple (2019–2020) Vanderbilt (2021–2022) Kentucky (2023)
NFL draft:	2024: 4th round, 128th pick
Career history
Buffalo Bills (2024–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-SEC (2023)
Career NFL statistics as of 2024
Rushing yards: 442 Rushing average: 3.9 Rushing touchdowns: 3 Receptions: 17 Receiving yards: 189 Receiving touchdowns: 3 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

Davis was born on November 20, 1999, in San Francisco, California, and has 14 siblings.^[1][2][3] He spent time in foster care as a child due to both his parents being incarcerated.^[2] Realizing he needed a positive role model and stability in his life; Davis asked for a Big Brother through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. Patrick Dowley became his Big Brother. Davis credits Dowley with turning his life around and in the NFL game in December 2024 Dowley was honored in a pregame ceremony.^[4] Davis attended Trinity-Pawling School in New York before spending a post-graduate year at Blair Academy due to poor academic grades.^[5] At Blair, he ran for 1,698 yards and 35 touchdowns while playing eight games.^[6] He finished his high school career with 4,815 yards and 48 touchdowns scored on offense while having posted 80 tackles and six interceptions on defense.^[1]

College career

Davis began playing college football for the Temple Owls in 2019, running for 936 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman and being named first-team Freshman All-American by Pro Football Focus (PFF).^[7][8] The following year, he ran for 323 yards in four games before entering the NCAA transfer portal.^[7]

Davis transferred to play for the Vanderbilt Commodores.^[7] In 2021, He had 211 rushing yards with a touchdown in his first three games before missing the rest of the year due to injury.^[1][7] He ran for 1,042 yards with five touchdowns in the 2022 season, earning fourth-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors while having five 100-yard games and being a semifinalist for the SEC Comeback Player of the Year award.^[1][9]

Davis entered the transfer portal a second time for his final year of eligibility in 2023, choosing to play for the Kentucky Wildcats.^[10] In his Kentucky debut, he ran for 112 yards and scored two touchdowns while averaging eight yards-per-carry.^[11] Against the 22nd-ranked Florida Gators, he ran for 280 yards and scored four touchdowns.^[12]

Statistics

Season	Games		Rushing				Receiving
	GP	GS	Att	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Temple Owls
2019	12	5	193	936	4.8	8	15	181	12.1	2
2020	4	4	78	308	3.9	1	12	62	5.2	0
Vanderbilt Commodores
2021	3	3	44	211	4.8	1	5	27	5.4	0
2022	12	12	232	1,042	4.5	5	29	169	5.8	3
Kentucky Wildcats
2023	13	13	199	1,129	5.7	13	33	323	9.8	7
Career	36	29	719	3,487	4.9	27	86	705	8.2	10

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
5 ft 8+3⁄8 in (1.74 m)	211 lb (96 kg)	30+1⁄4 in (0.77 m)	8+7⁄8 in (0.23 m)	4.52 s	1.56 s	2.67 s	4.33 s	35.0 in (0.89 m)	9 ft 11 in (3.02 m)	21 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[13][14]

Davis was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 128th overall pick in the fourth round in the 2024 NFL draft.^[15] He scored his first career touchdown in a week 3 47–10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.^[16] Davis became the secondary back in Buffalo's running back tandem alongside primary tailback James Cook and third down back Ty Johnson. On the season, he finished third on the team with 442 yards after Cook and quarterback Josh Allen, also rushing for three touchdowns, but also caught 17 passes for 189 yards and three receiving touchdowns, including a season long 63-yard touchdown pass against the Miami Dolphins.^[17]

During the Bills' wild card round playoff game against the Denver Broncos, Davis suffered a hit to the head after colliding with Broncos safety Brandon Jones while reaching for a pass from Allen. Davis was ruled out of the game and entered concussion protocol.^[18] Davis returned to the field for the Bills divisional round matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, where he rushed for 29 yards and his first playoff touchdown.

Davis, who once kicked a 57-yard field goal while in high school, was auditioned as the Bills' backup kicker during the team's August 9, 2025 preseason game against the New York Giants.^[19] Davis was successful in his lone extra point attempt during the contest, filling in for the injured Tyler Bass.^[20]