Derius

Davis

Davis also tacked on a carry for a loss of three yards. He made a leaping catch on a Justin Herbert throw for a 23-yard touchdown in the first quarter to start off scoring. It was his second career receiving touchdown as he continues to work as a gadget player in addition to being a returner for the Chargers. Davis remains off fantasy radars moving forward.

Davis scored his first first touchdown as a receiver — he picked up a touchdown as a returner in 2023 — on a 19-yard connection with Justin Herbert where he showed good concentration on a tipped pass.. The 24-year-old has yet to pick up more than two catches in a game, and that likely won’t change in Week 17 against the Patriots.

McConkey injured his hip in Week 6, getting in limited practices prior to the Chargers’ Week 7 game against the Cardinals. He starts out this week as a non-participant, leaving the banged-up Chargers receiving corps with Josh Palmer as the likely lead receiver. Given he played last week, McConkey has a chance to return to practice and play against the Saints Week 8. Derius Davis (hamstring) and Quentin Johnston (ankle) also did not practice as Justin Herbert’s pass-catching options dwindle.

If you’re looking for explosive plays after the catch, skip right ahead to Davis’ (5’8/165) final season at TCU. His final receiving line with the Horned Frogs (42-531-5) featured an impressive 401 yards after the catch and an even more impressive 9.5 YAC/REC. With an aDOT of just 7.0 last season, 23 of Davis’ 42 receptions came from behind the line of scrimmage. A slight frame will make it difficult for him to match up against opposing corners at the next level, but TCU put on a clinic of how to best utilize Davis going forward. His explosiveness as a return man will make him a welcomed asset to any special teams unit. During his career, Davis returned 96 kicks and punts, with six of them going for scores.

Davis (5'9/168) was positively dynamic and provided the steady receiving presence the Horned Frogs sorely needed with Quentin Johnston missing the game. He was on the receiving end of six of Max Duggan’s 10 completions, with his longest being a 49-yarder that helped bring TCU into scoring position on a drive that would end in a Duggan short yardage touchdown run. However his best play came on a jet sweep where Davis hit the edge in stride and burst through the Kansas secondary for a 43-yard touchdown run on TCU’s opening drive. The all-purpose weapon will try to post another 100-yard game next weekend against Iowa State.

Neither Max Duggan nor Chandler Morris was particularly effective in this contest, but Davis was able to have a solid afternoon. The senior wideout had a long gain of 30 and made a few more plays down the field; just not nearly enough for TCU in a game that was pretty much all Kansas State throughout. Davis (5'9/168) has mostly been a non-factor in the Horned Frogs’ passing game, but could be more involved going forward. His next chance comes next week against the Bears of Baylor.

Davis (5’9/168) averaged 23.2 YPC, with much of the damage coming on an enormous 71-yard score with 7:56 left in the game that broke a 22-22 tie and ended up being the last score of the game. On the play, QB Max Duggan lined up in the shotgun at his own 29. He initially looked right, and even cocked the ball to potentially throw, but his options were covered, so he reset, scrambled to his left, and regrouped. He saw Davis one-on-one downfield with a step on his man and no over-the-top, so Duggan wound up and let ‘er rip. Davis reeled it in and ran in the final 25 yards unharmed for the score. How surprising was his showing today? Consider this: Davis came into this game with a 9-70-0 receiving line on the season. Last year, he posted an 11-151-0 line. Duggan has been struggling to find legitimate targets. Perhaps he found one today.