Since trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, the Pittsburgh Steelers are back at square one at the wide receiver position. The offseason addition of DK Metcalf essentially cancels out the loss of Pickens, but this team is still desperate for a WR2. Now, the Steelers are scheduled to visit a free-agent wide receiver... but it's not with a player who's going to save the offense.
On Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that former Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis will be traveling to Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers on Thursday. This comes just days after Pittsburgh's front office reportedly had trade inquiries with the Miami Dolphins regarding tight end Jonnu Smith.
Davis is entering his sixth NFL season after being a fourth-round pick by the Bills in the 2020 NFL Draft. The former UCF product has excellent size. He entered the league at 6'2'' and 216 pounds. These days, he's listed at 225 pounds. But despite his impressive size profile and physicality, Gabe Davis is anything but the wide receiver the Steelers need.
The Pittsburgh Steelers should avoid signing Gabe Davis in free agency
Gabe Davis had a peak season with the Buffalo Bills in 2022 when he recorded 836 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. This included a 98-yard play and an impressive 9.0 yards per target. Since then, however, Davis has offered his offense next to nothing.
Davis played out the final year of his rookie contract with the Bills in 2023 before signing a lucrative three-year, $39 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Unfortunately, his performance was so poor in 2024 that Jacksonville cut its losses and sent Davis packing after just one season, despite being forced to eat dead money in the process.
Last season, Davis was targeted 42 times in 10 games and earned a mere 239 yards and two touchdowns. The veteran wide receiver caught just 46.6 percent of passes thrown in his direction while earning a dismal 5.7 yards per target. Meanwhile, the Jaguars' quarterbacks combined for just a 61.5 passer rating when targeting Davis last season, and Davis earned a terrible success rate of just 40.5 percent.
Pro Football Focus seconded Davis' poor performance last season. On 331 snaps out wide, 73 snaps from the slot, and six snaps inline, Davis earned just a 52.5 overall grade—good for 127th among 133 qualifying wide receivers last year.
I understand that Arthur Smith has always worked with big, physical wide receivers who were willing blockers, but Davis struggles to separate, and the former big-play wide receiver won't offer much of a spark. Unless he's willing to sign for cheap and potentially take a reserve role as a third or fourth receiver, the Pittsburgh Steelers should want no part of him in free agency.