Ray Davis’ kicking gets Hard Knocks spotlight in Ep. 2 (with a few Deone Walker cameos)

With Buffalo Bills star running back James Cook a recent hold-in at practice while pushing for a new lucrative contract — a four-year, $48M deal that came Wednesday morning, actually — you knew Ray Davis was going to get the Hard Knocks treatment. Week one of HBO’s annual training camp show put a spotlight on Josh Allen, Tre’Davious White, Dion Dawkins and Kentucky’s own Maxwell Hairston.

This time, it was No. 22’s turn.

“It’s an opportunity for somebody else to step up and show us what they’ve got,” head coach Sean McDermott said of Cook’s hold-in. “The team moves forward, that’s the nature of the game.”

That’s when the cameras turned toward Davis.

“Gonna be No. 1 soon or what?” a fan asked the former Wildcat.

“Aha, nah. I like James there,” he said. “James is a little bit better than me on that one.”

“Cook’s absence is giving second-year back Ray Davis more reps and more responsibility — but it’s not making him buggy,” narrator Liev Schreiber said, highlighting the butterfly on his uniform. “He’s embracing the opportunity.”

Insert group hug with quarterbacks Josh Allen and Shane Buechele.

From there, extended camp clips of Davis shining as a runner and pass-catcher out of the backfield — taking the next step following a terrific debut season in Buffalo that saw him rush for 442 yards and three touchdowns to go with 189 yards and three scores through the air.

The Bills are expecting more in year two.

“The biggest thing you see with a rookie from one year to the next is just the communication and comfort level,” offensive coordinator Joe Brady said of Davis. “As a rookie, you’re getting a hose sprayed on your face, just trying to get through. I’m just trying to see his comfort level and approach and understanding of, ‘I’m not just running an offensive play, I’m understanding the scheme and how the defense is playing it, how that’s all going to work together.”

“Comfortable players are fast players, and there is no substitute for speed,” the narrator said as Davis sliced through defenders on a run and pulled down a contested touchdown catch.

“I feel a lot more confident in year two,” Davis told backup QB Mitch Trubisky.

“No doubt, isn’t it? Getting that full year experience and knowing what to expect and know the offense?” Trubisky responded.

“I was so scared to make mistakes,” Davis said. “I was running trying to be perfect, now I’m just like, eh — just playing.”

Then the real reason for Davis in the Hard Knocks spotlight: kicking.

“Did you know — so, we have this thing in our office where we bet on the craziest thing that happened in practice,” an equipment staffer told the former Wildcat. “I said, ‘Ray Davis field goals.'”

“So we’ve got Ray Davis the running back, now we’ve got Ray Davis the kicker,” he told the camera crew.

You guys know the rest of that story, Davis showing off his boot in the team’s intrasquad scrimmage to prove he can handle emergency duties with starter Tyler Bass injured, going two for three. That led to him being listed as the official backup kicker on the depth chart going into the first preseason game.

“I just kept screaming from the top of my lungs that I can kick. I kept telling everyone I can kick,” Davis said, adding that the equipment staff picked up a kicking shoe from Dick’s Sporting Goods for him earlier in the week.

“Yeah, I was very aware that he had the kicking shoe ready to go,” McDermott confirmed. “I think it’s good for Ray to get a little bit of (time) as the emergency kicker. Let’s say he scores this weekend (in the preseason game), we may have to throw his shoe out to him and he’s gonna have to get it tied. We should probably get velcro.”

“Let’s hope they let me kick, and if I do, I can finally tell the world I am the best running back kicker,” Davis added. “I think I can compete with the best of them.”

The former Kentucky star did, in fact, get his shot, drilling his lone extra point attempt in Buffalo’s 34-25 loss to the New York Giants in the preseason opener.

“I was like **** it, if we get this ***** off, let’s get it off,” Davis told punter and holder Brad Robbins after the kick.

“That was good. It sounded good from down there,” Robbins responded. “I knew it was in right away.”

“I can’t **** up the celebration now.”

The 25-year-old running back did everything he was supposed to do when his number was called, but it wasn’t enough to keep his job as the backup kicker, unfortunately. With Tyler Bass still banged up, the Bills brought in Caden Davis to serve as the team’s true injury replacement for the preseason, pushing the former Wildcat to third-string emergency kicker.

Sounds like we need to see a kicking battle in practice, if you ask me.

Deone Walker ramps up the cameos

Buffalo’s “Dancing Bear” got essentially zero screentime in episode one, Deone Walker shown in the corner of a few huddles, but that was about it. This time around, you got to see the former Wildcat more prominently featured — even if he didn’t have any speaking roles or real highlights.

His first appearance came in a scene talking about the transition from normal training camp to actual game preparation ahead of the first preseason matchup, a veteran directing a friendly jab at the rookie out of Kentucky.

“Which one of those rookies do you think is nervous, though? Bills star offensive tackle Dion Dawkins told his teammate. “96? Even 98 — he likes to talk, but I bet you he’s nervous, too. You can see it on his face.”

Walker’s next (and only) two appearances were cameos in every sense of the word — a background character in other storylines.

First, he was looking at a teammate’s phone while walking out of practice.

Later, he celebrated KJ Hamler’s touchdown catch with the fourth-year wide receiver on the sideline of the team’s preseason loss.

Maxwell Hairston feature in episode one, Ray Davis feature in episode two… Deone Walker feature in episode three? Find out next week on KSR’s weekly Hard Knocks: BBN update.

Thank you for joining us.