Isaiah Davis

Year 2 jump: more carries, more catches, more receiving yards — but the TD line slipped.

A 5th-round pick out of South Dakota State, Davis settled into the Breece Hall change-of-pace role. Year 2 brought 16 games (up from 13), 64 total touches (up from 39), and 422 scrimmage yards vs 249 as a rookie — a controlled expansion of the role, not a sudden takeover.

The interesting half is the receiving step-up: 9 → 21 catches, 75 → 186 yards, suggesting the Jets started using him as a real outlet back rather than only on early downs.

Why it matters. Season-over-season volume arc is the clearest signal of a backup back’s role trajectory — Davis’s Year 2 expansion in both carries and catches shows the Jets committed to him as a real complement, not just a depth piece.

5.62 career YPC on 73 carries — a per-touch efficiency that beats most starters.

At 6-1, 220 lbs, Davis is built like a between-the-tackles thumper but has produced like a slasher. 73 career carries / 410 yards = 5.62 YPC, plus 8.70 yards per reception on 30 catches (40 targets). Over 29 career games he’s at 671 scrimmage yards on 103 touches — 6.51 per touch.

That number is the case for a bigger role whenever Hall isn’t on the field.

Why it matters. Per-touch efficiency for a backup running back is the key metric: it tells you how much damage he’d do if volume increased, independent of his current opportunity share.

Career high in 2025 Week 8 vs Cincinnati: 109 scrimmage yards on 12 touches.

Week 8 of 2025 at Cincinnati was the breakout: 7 carries for 65, 5 catches for 44 — 12 touches, 109 yards, 9.08 per touch. He cleared 50 scrimmage yards in 3 different games in 2025, which for a back behind Breece Hall is the upper end of what’s available.

Why it matters. Peak-game context shows Davis’s ceiling as a contributor — when the Jets leaned on him, he produced at a high per-touch rate, making the case for a larger role.

Played 16 of 18 in Year 2 after appearing in 13 as a rookie — the role is locked.

Davis missed only 2 games in 2025 (Weeks 9 and 18) and was on the active 53 nearly every Sunday. That kind of week-to-week presence is the marker of a real RB2: he’s not a designated-touch gadget guy, he’s a complement back the Jets trust to run a few drives.

The overall career path — 29 games, 103 touches, 3 total TDs — fits the trajectory of a 5th-round back earning his second contract by being the safe option behind a higher-paid starter.

Why it matters. Active-roster consistency tells you more than raw touch counts for a backup: if he dresses every week, the team is relying on him as a real contributor — and that trust compounds into opportunity when the starter is limited.

Most of his yardage came in the second half of 2025 — a back trending up.

Davis’s 2025 has a clean shape: the receiving role front-loaded (14 catches through Week 9), the rushing role grew late (26 carries from Week 10 on). The Jets cycled him through different roles depending on game script, which is more interesting than the season totals suggest.

Key moment: Week 15 at JAX — 9 carries, 58 yards, 1 rushing TD — his only score of the year, and the kind of game that argues for a few extra reps in 2026.

Why it matters. An intra-season role shift from receiver to runner suggests the Jets found a specific use-case for Davis late in the year — that kind of role clarity in Year 2 is a positive signal for Year 3 opportunity.