Texans host Kentucky running back Ray Davis for visit

Kentucky running back Ray Davis, a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection who played in the Senior Bowl all-star game, visited the Texans, per an NFL source.

Davis is one of the highest-ranked running back draft prospects and is regarded as a three-down, all-around back due to his pass-catching skills, elusiveness and ability to break tackles.

In his lone season at Kentucky, Davis had 199 carries for 1,129 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns last season for the Wildcats, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He also caught 33 passes for 323 yards and seven touchdowns. He had 280 rushing yards in a 33-14 victory over the Florida Gators as he scored four touchdowns, including a 75-yard score, as he averaged 10.8 yards per run on 26 carries. He had 21 total touchdowns, setting a single-season school record.

The AFC South champion Texans traded for former Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon this offseason and signed him to a three-year, $27 million contract extension. While the Texans have former Pro Bowl alternate Dameon Pierce on the roster, Pierce’s production dipped considerably last season as Devin ‘Motor’ Singletary supplanted him as the featured back. The Texans could be in the market to add another running back to work in tandem with Mixon.

Davis became the first active player in Division I to have 1,000 rushing yards at three different schools. He became the first player in SEC history to rush for 1,000 or more yards at two different programs.

He was named the Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week and East-West Shrine Bowl Breakout Offensive Player of the Week.

At 5-foot-8 3/8, 211 pounds, Davis has run the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds with a 1.56 10-yard split, a 4.51 20-yard shuttle, a 35-inch vertical leap and a 9-11 broad jump.

A former starter for the Temple Owls and Vanderbilt Commodores, Davis rushed for 3,626 career yards with 29 touchdown runs and 94 catches for 762 yards and 12 touchdown receptions. He averaged 4.9 yards per run for his career.

At Vanderbilt, he ran for 1,042 yards and five touchdowns in 2022 and was named fourth-team All-SEC with five 100-yard games and was a semifinalist for SEC Comeback Player of the Year.

At Temple, Davis rushed for 936 yards and eight touchdowns and was named a freshman All-American.

A San Francisco native, Davis attended high school at Trinity-Pawling School in New York before spending a post-graduate year at Blair Academy where he rushed for 1,698 yards and 35 touchdowns in eight games.

He had 4,815 rushing yards and 48 touchdowns in high school.

Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790.

Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey visited Texans

Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey visited the Texans, per a league source.

The visit doesn’t count against the limit of 30 official visits because McCaffrey is designated as a local prospect.

McCaffrey is continuing his family NFL tradition.

McCaffrey aced the the NFL scouting combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds to edge the time of his older brother, San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey. Christian McCaffrey ran a 4.47 in 2017.

Speed runs in the family.

Their father, Ed McCaffrey, played wide receiver for the Denver Broncos.

Luke McCaffrey had a 1.52 10-yard split, a 36-inch vertical leap, a 10-1 broad jump, a 6.7 in the three-cone drill and a 4.02 short shuttle that represented the best among all wide receivers at the combine.

McCaffrey, who played in the Senior Bowl all-star game, is a converted quarterback and Nebraska transfer known for his work as a slot possession receiver.

Ed McCaffrey played 13 seasons in the NFL. And Christian McCaffrey was named the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year. His brother, Max McCaffrey, is an offensive assistant with the Miami Dolphins.

“I take a lot of pride in the versatility of my game, being able to play in the slot, out wide, being able to play Wildcat quarterback, being able to play running back,” McCaffrey said of the Dolphins and coach Mike McDaniel. “Their offense has a whole lot of speed. I don’t think they’re hiding that. I think they do such a good job of using motions, using shifts to open up their fast players and I think McDaniel is such a great play caller when it comes to that just the way that he can manipulate defenses in the way that they can break down a team like that. So, it’s a lot of fun watching.”

Would he rather play for the 49ers, whom he met with, or the Dolphins?

“Oh, I don’t know,” McCaffrey said. “Both of them would be awesome. You know, there’s a lot of cool storylines when it comes to the game of football. I’m just going to be excited to be playing football because a lot of people don’t get that opportunity as you grow up, and so I’m gonna be happy wherever I land.”

McCaffrey caught 71 passes for 992 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Owls.

The 6-foot-1, 202-pounder caught 58 passes for 723 yards and six touchdowns as a junior.

He has been projected anywhere from the middle rounds to the later rounds, but it’s believed he’s trending upward on draft boards.

“I’ve heard everything,” McCaffrey said. “I’ve heard literally every single round from the second to undrafted and so I don’t like to speculate on that. I’m living in the moment right now.”