Bills kick returner Ray Davis named first-team All-Pro; James Cook lands on second team
"Man, I'm grateful," Davis said Friday after practice at One Bills Drive.
Ray Davis lined up with the Buffalo Bills' first-team offense in August while then-two-time Pro Bowl running back James Cook sat out practices to try to earn a new contract.
Cook eventually got paid and, once the season began, he showed why he's one of the best runners in the NFL. He was so effective that the Bills kept handing him the ball, and Davis did not get on the field as often as he did as a rookie.
Davis did not pout. He kept working and, midway through his second NFL season, special teams coordinator Chris Tabor offered the talented back a chance to return kicks.
Cook won the NFL's rushing title with 1,621 yards, Davis set a franchise record with a league-best 30.4-yard kickoff return average (including a 97-yard touchdown) and, on Saturday, both officially became All-Pros. The Associated Press announced Cook as a second-team All-Pro running back, while Davis is the first-team All-Pro kick returner.
Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis set a franchise record in kickoff return average this season.
Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News
"Man, I'm grateful," Davis said Friday after practice at One Bills Drive. "I'm blessed. It takes all 11 guys, right? And I'll say 12 because I always have Tabor in my head always telling me to hit that, cut here. It's a great accomplishment, but it takes a team effort. I'm proud the guys got this award, too, and not just me. We're not finished yet. We still have a lot more we want to achieve."
Cook's rushing output ranks third in Bills history, and he became the team's first player to win the rushing title since O.J. Simpson in 1976. The Bills were 11-1 when Cook had 100-plus scrimmage yards, and he had a league-leading nine 100-yard rushing games.
Cook also joined Simpson and Thurman Thomas as the only Buffalo players with three consecutive seasons of 1,000 rushing yards. Cook also set a team record with a rushing touchdown in eight consecutive games, and he joined Cookie Gilchrist as the second Bills player to have eight-plus rushing touchdowns and two-plus receiving touchdowns in back-to-back seasons.
"It's special," Cook said Wednesday. "It's something that I had checked off my goal list and now it's over. Now it's time to move on to the playoffs now."
Last season, Davis totaled 442 rushing yards and six total touchdowns as James Cook's backup in Buffalo. Davis got nearly half as many carries (58) and rushing yards (275) as his rookie season because of Cook's effectiveness and Ty Johnson maintaining his role as the Bills' third-down and two-minute-drill running back. Davis had an excellent performance in the finale, though, rushing for 151 yards on 21 carries in a 35-8 win over the New York Jets.