Who Should I Start? Gabriel Davis or Dameon Pierce

Wednesday, April 3, 2:02 PM

The Jacksonville Jaguars believe that new wide receiver Gabe Davis can do a lot of different things in their offense in 2024. "Gabe is, to me, like a Swiss Army knife. He can obviously run routes, the guy is right around 81-82 targets a year for the last four years if you average them out. He's a big part of the offense in Buffalo," head coach Doug Pederson said about Davis. The 25-year-old averaged 87 targets the last two years in Buffalo and caught 163 passes for 2,730 yards (26.7 yards per catch) and 27 touchdowns in four years with the Bills. With Calvin Ridley now with the Titans, the Jags will have to make up for the 136 targets he drew in 2023. Davis has big-play ability, but he'll be competing for targets with Christian Kirk, Zay Jones and Evan Engram and probably is going to be a boom-or-bust fantasy wideout again in 2024 with his new team.

Thursday, May 2, 4:48 PM

Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce had a notable rookie campaign after being selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. In just 13 games before being sidelined with injuries, he racked up 939 yards and four touchdowns on 220 carries and caught 30 passes for 165 yards and one score. However, his role, production, and efficiency declined in 2023 after the arrival of Devin Singletary, as he posted just 517 total yards and rushed for 2.9 yards per carry. Singletary is now gone, but the team traded for former Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon. Despite this, Texans general manager Nick Caserio spoke highly of Pierce in a recent media availability. "He is going to be a big part of what we're doing. Watching him move on the field, he looks pretty good. Everybody's looking forward to the opportunity in front of them; you can't worry about what's happened in the past," Caserio said. "He's got as good an attitude as anyone on the team. We're glad DP is here." While you never know whether a head coach or general manager is being honest in these situations, Caserio's comments can only help his fantasy stock. Fantasy managers should go into the season with low expectations for Pierce, but he should at least be viewed as a high-end handcuff running back in what projects to be one of the league's best offenses.