Whether it’s Mike Tomlin or Mike McCarthy, the Pittsburgh Steelers love their pedigree. That was true under Tomlin, who regularly targeted free agents who were once highly touted or projected. The start of McCarthy’s tenure has been similar.
It’s reflective of the team’s recent pickups. Pittsburgh finally signed a deal with safety Darnell Savage and picked up linebacker Jamin Davis out of mandatory minicamp. Both are former first-round picks. Savage was the 21st overall pick in 2019, and Davis was the 19th pick two years later.
Savage had a serviceable career, starting in Green Bay for years before becoming a journeyman in recent years. Davis’ tenure never got off the ground. He started but toiled in Washington and is on his third team in three years.
Neither is guaranteed to make Pittsburgh’s roster. Savage is in a fight with youngsters Robert Spears-Jennings and Sebastian Castro. Both figure to have the special teams edge. Savage looked nearly cooked last season, burned for a long touchdown in a Divisional Round loss for the Buffalo Bills.
Davis appears to be working as an outside linebacker, putting him no higher than No. 5 for a team poised to keep four.
Pedigree isn’t the sole reason why the Steelers signed both. Savage offers experience to counter the youth the Steelers have in Spears-Jennings and Castro. He also worked with defensive backs coaches Joe Whitte Jr. and Jason Simmons in Washington as one of his 2025 stops. Davis also has coaching ties, briefly working under Patrick Graham in Las Vegas.
Still, the allure of “former first-round pick” still holds value in Pittsburgh. Those players were projected highly for a reason, often because of unique physical talent. That’s certainly Davis’ case, a freak athlete from Kentucky who, at 234 pounds, ran 4.48 and jumped 42 inches in the vertical and 11’0″ in the board at his Pro Day.
It’s not a critique of the process; Savage and Davis are inoffensive, no-risk options, but an observation in this first year comparing Tomlin to McCarthy.
McCarthy added his share of underdog stories. Most have connections back to him. Undrafted players in OL Brock Hoffman and RB Rico Dowdle play with chips on their shoulders. The recent signings, though, harken back to Pittsburgh’s love of trying to squeeze a little more out of these former headline names.
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