Mike Davis is a "Starting Tailback" to Rhule

Davis will be taking over at RB while McCaffrey heals

Now that Christian McCaffrey will be sidelined for the next several weeks due to an ankle injury, all eyes are now turning to backup running back Mike Davis. Prior to the roster cuts, I projected Mike Davis to be Carolina's third string back. However, Davis earned the number two spot behind McCaffrey because of his promising production during training camp. Here's what was said about him in our 2020 Panthers running backs preview:

Mike Davis had a lackluster 2019 season with just 27 yards on 13 carries split between the Bears and the Panthers. He will be looking forward to producing numbers similar to his 2018 season in Seattle, where he produced 514 rushing yards, 214 receiving yards, and five total touchdowns.

After Davis took over for McCaffrey late in Sunday's game against the Bucs, he made some explosive plays that may have surprised some fans. As for the entire game, Davis caught eight passes for 74 yards, which isn't a bad stat line at all. Based on this performance, head coach Matt Rhule believes that Davis is still a first string caliber running back. "Mike Davis is a starting tailback in the National Football League. He made some great catches, he was physical, he was ready when his number was called and he'll play well in Christian's absence. He's a big back, he runs with power, runs good routes, has good hands, he can block, he's really intelligent, so he'll play well for us."

McCaffrey will be missed during his absence, but getting him back to one hundred percent should be the main goal. We will see how Davis performs against Joey Bosa and the formidable Chargers defense this Sunday.

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