The Pittsburgh Steelers and general manager Omar Khan vowed to address the wide receiver room this offseason. And it started well, with the Steelers trading for WR DK Metcalf. But then, they traded away WR George Pickens. But finally, it appears that the Steelers are at least looking to bolster their depth chart by bringing in WR Gabe Davis for a free agent visit on Thursday.
Obviously, a free agent visit is no guarantee that the Steelers will sign Davis. However, it is an encouraging sign that the Steelers and Khan are working to address areas of need. And ESPN’s Jeff Darlington thinks Davis would be a good fit for the Steelers.
But will the Steelers’ quarterback uncertainty be a significant deterrent for Gabe Davis? If not, Darlington thinks Davis would be great for the Steelers.
“The question, of course, is would Davis be willing to sign not knowing exactly who the starter will be in Week 1, if it’ll be Aaron Rodgers?” said Darlington on NFL Live on Tuesday. “He’s probably the best free agent out there, and he does fit, quite frankly, what Arthur Smith would want to do on that offense. It does make sense if this actually ends up being a marriage.”
Gabe Davis has done the rounds since the Jacksonville Jaguars released him early in May. He visited the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants in the middle of May. According to Mitch Morse, Davis’ former teammate with both the Buffalo Bills and the Jaguars, Davis played hurt in 2024.
That would certainly explain Davis’ down year in his lone season with the Jaguars. He only played in 10 games and had 20 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns, all career lows. During his four seasons in Buffalo, Davis hauled in 163 catches for 2,730 yards (average of 16.7 yards per catch) and 27 touchdowns. He added another 53 catches for 1,151 yards (21.5 yards per catch!) and 15 touchdowns in 17 playoff games with the Bills.
And Gabe Davis has undoubtedly left a mark on the Steelers during his five-year career so far. He’s only faced the Steelers three times, but he has eight catches for 230 yards (28.75 yards per catch) and four touchdowns. He’s averaged a touchdown on every other pass he’s caught against the Steelers. And Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko thinks Davis’ ability to make the big play is sorely needed by the Steelers.
But Gabe Davis brings more than just big-play ability (which is quite nice). He has also demonstrated blocking ability during his career. And we all know that’s big for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. He had a career-high 72.5 run-blocking grade in 2021 with the Bills while also posting 300+ run-block snaps in three of his five seasons in the NFL.
When you combine run-blocking ability and willingness with big-play catching ability, it makes sense that Gabe Davis would be a great fit for the Steelers. And Steelers fans would much rather watch him flying downfield for a touchdown (or pulling one away from a defender) for the Steelers rather than against them.
GABE DAVIS ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
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— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022
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