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Running back Mike Davis will play for his fifth NFL franchise as he signed with the Atlanta Falcons on a two-year deal. Davis previously played with the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and most recently the Carolina Panthers. He joins a rather empty backfield for the time being, so we’ll see what the Falcons do at the running back position moving forward.
Mike Davis signing: Fantasy football impact
Davis earned good experience as a starting NFL running back in 2020 after Panthers star Christian McCaffrey went down early in the season with an injury. Davis appeared in 15 games and started 12 of them as the team’s primary ball carrier. He finished the season with by far the most carries among Carolina running backs with 165 for 642 yards and six touchdowns. He also proved to be a valuable asset in the passing game, catching 59 of 70 targets for 373 yards with another two scores.
Davis is not likely to take over a game by himself, though he proved last season that he is worth a look as a productive back in this league. Whether the Falcons give him that chance to be a workhorse back at age 28 remains to be seen. Davis would very likely be the team’s No. 1 back if the season started today, but Atlanta could go ahead and draft a running back this spring and change those plans.
For now, Davis could be a very solid value play in the later rounds of fantasy football drafts. Finding quality running backs with a decent workload both as a runner and passer is hard to come by in today’s NFL, and Davis could be worth a look depending on the moves the Falcons make at the position leading up to the start of the NFL season.