ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Running back Ray Davis grew up in the foster system, bouncing from one end of the country to the other before finding a home in New Jersey.
Defensive tackle DeWayne Carter comes from a family with a long line of football players, but wasn’t allowed to play the sport until sixth grade. And receiver Keon Coleman is the most athletic of them all, being a two-sport athlete at Michigan State before enjoying a breakout season as a junior last year after transferring to Florida State.
However varied their backgrounds, what the three members of Buffalo’s rookie draft class share is having made an impact in helping the AFC East-leading Bills get off to a 5-2 start in preparing to play at Seattle (4-3) on Sunday.
“We have a special group,” Davis said Wednesday, making sure to include safety Cole Bishop, a second-round pick, who has played a limited role after missing most of training camp with a shoulder injury.
“I think that’s the fun part about watching DC, Keon, Cole and myself is when you get thrown in the fire, how do you necessarily react?” he added. “Do you shy way or do you embrace it?. And I think we’ve really embraced the roles that we have.”
The Bills had no choice but to lean on their youngsters this year. Aging players and the salary cap finally caught up to Buffalo, with an offseason payroll purge leading to the departure of six of eight returning captains.
“Proud man. Rookie class is involved making plays,” Coleman said. “DeWayne is out there hitting people, and Ray is out there trucking people. We're just doing our job. We having fun.”
As for Coleman, selected with the first pick of the second round, he has jumped to third among NFL rookies with a Bills-leading 326 yards receiving after a four-catch, 125-yard outing in a 34-10 win over Tennessee on Sunday.
Carter, a third-round pick out of Duke, already has two starts filling in for Ed Oliver, and made a game-turning play against the Titans. With Buffalo trailing 10-7 to open the third quarter, Carter burst through the left side of the Titans line and stuffed Tony Pollard for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-2, leading to the Bills scoring the go-ahead touchdown six plays later.
“Those are just the type of plays you see him making in practice,” Oliver said of Carter, who now has three tackles for a loss and batted down an Aaron Rodgers pass attempt in a 23-20 win over the Jets. “I don’t know if that’s like a knack of his, but super-timely plays, super-important plays.”
From Ohio, Carter’s father played for the Buckeyes, his uncle Raymond Carter played at Notre Dame, and two other uncles played at Western Kentucky and Youngstown State. DeWayne Carter Sr., initially refused to allow his son to play football until he got to high school, before his mother intervened in allowing him to play earlier.
As for Davis, a fourth-round pick out of Kentucky, his opportunity came against the Jets at the Meadowlands, with members of his extended family and friends in attendance. Filling in for injured starter James Cook, Davis finished with 97 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving in becoming Buffalo’s first rookie to lead the team in both categories since Ronnie Harmon in 1986.
“It was a full-circle moment for me, because my career really did start in the New York-New Jersey area,” said Davis, noting he got to meet up with one of his teachers after the game. “It was cool for him to see that and get the experience watching me as a young sophomore baling in high school to now being in the NFL. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
Born in San Francisco with 14 siblings, Davis bounced from home to home while his father and mother spent several stretches in jail. Davis was placed in foster care at 8, and at one point lived out of a homeless shelter. Davis was 16 when he finally landed at Trinity-Pawling prep school in New York, thanks to the help of numerous people, including Lora Banks and her husband Greg Ley, whom he still considers his “guardians.”
Davis went on to play at Temple before transferring to Vanderbilt, where he graduated with a communications degree. He then closed his college career at Kentucky, where he scored a school record 21 touchdowns (14 rushing, seven receiving) last year.
Davis ranks second on the Bills with 213 yards rushing and two scores, along with 79 yards receiving.
Coleman recalled being wowed watching Davis play at Kentucky.
“It’s been the same thing here,” the receiver said. “Whatever task it is, he has some ambition behind him.”
Coach Sean McDermott is struck by Davis’ upbringing, crediting his past for the person and player he’s become.
“When you grow up with adversity, those players seem to somewhat have a leg up because they’ve had to work for things and have had to claw and scratch every day,” McDermott said. “He’s just wired that way. I mean, probably because of his background, he’s been a winner.”
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