There was equal hype surrounding Gabe Davis and Isaiah Hodgins after they were each selected by the Bills on day three of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The 4th-rounder Davis and 6th-rounder Hodgins earned immediate praise from the veteran wide receivers on the roster for their understanding of the offense and play on the field early in the COVID-impacted training camp.

"Me and Gabe both picked up the playbook pretty well," Hodgins said. "We did a lot of studying together. Studying with Coach Chad [Hall]. He did a good job of helping us out. But injuries snuck up."

Injuries snuck up for Hodgins as Davis continued his rise up the Bills receiver ranks.

He was dealing with a torn labrum he suffered before his final season at Oregon State. Hodgins bypassed surgery at that time and instead played his entire junior year with the injury and it remained as he suited up for the Bills.

"There were a couple times towards the end where it kept dislocating and stuff and it wasn't really safe for me to keep playing," Hodgins said.

The end was when the team put Hodgins on injured reserve before the regular season began. Rest and rehab was the initial recovery plan and Hodgins eventually found himself back on the practice field a few months later.

"We had thought we had rehabbed it enough and it was looking good and then it just dislocated again," Hodgins said. "So that's when it was like let's get surgery. It's clearly not worth it at this point."

Hodgins worked his way back from the shoulder surgery to take the field in a non-contact jersey through the following spring session of OTAs and minicamp.

But when training camp came around in the summer, a leg injury popped up and slowed him down again.

In the end, Hodgins failed to make the 53-man roster, but was signed to the practice squad. He was called up late last season for one game, playing the first and only four offensive snaps of his career in week 16 against the Patriots.

"It was definitely really tough mentally," Hodgins admitted. "I've had to battle a lot mentally, emotionally and all that. I was definitely happy for my teammates and happy for my team, but it was tough being on that sideline and knowing that I could be out there contributing."

Yet even with the challenging beginning, Hodgins' confidence remains strong.

"I know who I am and I know who god made me to be," Hodgins said. "I always know that I was going to play in this league since I was a little kid. I know everyone says that, but I really knew it and I really know that I belong here. I'm here for a reason. I knew it wasn't anything with my playmaking ability. It was just me learning the game and staying healthy. I feel like I'm continuing to do that every year and I still have a long way to go. Still got a lot to learn. Still got more game reps to get, but I feel like that's going to keep coming with time."

Hodgins' playmaking abilities have been evident so far through this training camp at St. John Fisher University.

"I think he's playing his best football," head coach Sean McDermott said. "He's had a good camp. He's playing strong at the point, whether that's at the catch point or at the point of contact. I'm impressed the way he's played to this point and he looks very confident."

"Man, he's solid," quarterback Case Keenum said. "I have the utmost faith in him. As a quarterback, you say you look out at your receivers and you get this little tingly feeling when there's guys that you want to throw the ball to and he's one of those guys. I get the tingly feeling."

All that said, the reality is the Bills don't have many roster spots open at wide receiver. While Hodgins doesn't like to play the numbers game, he is aware of the steep uphill climb he has in front of him in the next few weeks.

"You could be making a lot of plays and still not make it, but I try not to worry about that," Hodgins explained. "You kind of get lost with everything inside your head if you're sitting there counting numbers and counting reps or if you're counting who caught what. Who did this and who did good and bad. It kind of just gets you lost. I just try and focus day-by-day and focus on me and what I can do."

So I asked Hodgins straight-forward: What does he need to do to make this team?

"I just definitely need to just keep doing my part," Hodgins responded. "I need to go out there and catch everything my way. Give great effort. Get all the blocks and assignments that I need to do. Go out there and really showcase that I can do this. I can translate it from practice to a game. I can stay durable. I can stay healthy. Just do my part and let the coaches figure out the rest."