Lol. What a way to dislocate a kneecap. “Horsing around” was the another term reported in the media at the time.

That said, two returners with traditional slot receiver builds signed today between him and Shepherd. Now we have some competition for a job that greatly needs it and the possibility of a PS backup as well perhaps.

“Davis had returned 12 punts for 89 yards and seven kicks for 171 yards in seven games for the Giants this season. He also had four catches for 40 yards as a receiver” at the time of his injury. source SNY.tv

In my view the returning stats are the key ones in terms of potential to make the roster, but hopefully one of these will offer real potential as a slot receiver in future, which I do not believe the incumbent Davis does.

Pretty strong stats

Sounds like another guy with a high RAS score that Gutekunst seems to like.

The incumbent Trevor Davis has had availability problems and has been next to invisible as a receiver even in his preseasons. He has also had difficulty making sound decisions on returns. It’s not all about athleticism. Trevor Davis has 8 receptions for 94 yards for his career, which is effectively negligible. Regardless of the separation you cite there is no evidence that he has it as a receiver.

He has never scored a return touchdown and averages 12 yds per punt on 37 returns and 22 per kick on 35. While those are decent averages, that doesn’t account for the several poor decisions to leave or bring out, at least one of which has directly led to an opponent scoring.

By comparison Jawill averaged 7.4 on 12 punt returns and 24 on 7 kick returns. It’s a smaller sample size, but it does give an insight as to the marginal upside of Trevor as a returner. Of course it does not speak fumbles or wrong decisions by either. Ultimately, any receiver upside differential would massively outweigh the difference in these performance records.

Personally, of the three, I suspect Shepherd might be the best all round receiving prospect while being the least known commodity at this point. Since a returner is active, a different body type on some plays increases options for LaFleur in terms of available plays. It also adds game day depth in the event of an injury and the option to throw in a 5 receiver set now and again.

If either Jawill or Shepherd offer something in the slot and a reliable pair of hands with sound decision making I would take that over Davis’ ability to potentially get a few extra yards on a return if he makes a good call and is healthy. Trevor Davis’ marginal contribution to the team thus far has been negligible to negative. It is time to attempt to do better.

If Trevor proves me wrong, wonderful, at least the signings of Jawill and Shepherd have thrown down the gauntlet. He has real competition and the team has sent a message to him. Plus, should Trevor get injured again, we aren’t left with no viable option like last year. Let the competition commence!

The figures published at the time for Jawill’s pro day we’re;

40 yard dash (4.37),
225 pound bench press (14),
vertical jump (39)
broad jump (124).

These match with those posted earlier by Savage. You cite 4.43 and then add to that?

4th and 25 from your own 10 yard line, go for it? ok.

D_in_S
Or.....as teams do; use ST as a way to groom rookie TEs, LBs, Ss, CBs WRs by getting them on the field. Otherwise, yeah. You might save a few positions on the 53 for a 3rd backup somewhere else, or then again....instead of sitting on the bench....let em go in as gunners and returners, and learn to block in space.

I suppose you're being partly facetious, still to which...
why give up chances to move the ball 5 or 10 yards before your offense gets on the field?

I don’t know much about Jawill either, but I did find the following in an NFL Draft Report quoted at bigblueview.com:

“Davis shows good athletic ability for his position, demonstrating the change of direction, balance and body control to not take any false steps getting into his routes. He has sudden quickness and impressive deep speed, building his acceleration nicely, as he shows the body torque to get in and out of his breaks cleanly. He is a quick, short strider with good playing speed for his size, but is better utilized in the short-to-intermediate areas, as he has very good balance running his routes and does a good job of adjusting to the ball in flight.

Davis also has a solid understanding for route building/progression. He comes off the line hard and tries to look fast, using his hands well to attack the center of a defensive back to get a strong push- off for a clean release. ...

Davis displays the moves to elude and it is very difficult to reroute him due to his ability to fend off defenders and protect his body. His speed makes him consistently escape past the press, but if stalled, he lacks the strength to work his way through. He shows good body control through his movements and is surprisingly light on his feet for a player of his size.”