The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns will both have new faces under center this season. While the Steelers are set with four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, an intense four-way competition for QB1 is underway in Cleveland between Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
Equally competitive, or messed up, is the Browns’ wide receiver room, which has plenty of names but no guaranteed starter beyond Jerry Jeudy. Cleveland didn’t add a receiver in the draft, and is now predicted to be the potential landing spot for Gabe Davis. The Steelers are also in the hunt as they lack a reliable weapon beyond DK Metcalf.
The Better Fit For Gabe Davis: Steelers or Browns?
Davis signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Jaguars last offseason after four productive years with the Buffalo Bills.
It seemed like an expensive deal for a receiver who hadn’t yet surpassed 1,000 yards in a season, but Jacksonville was confident that “Big Game Gabe” could spark its offense.
WHAT A START! GABE DAVIS 98 YARDS! 💨
(via @BuffaloBills)pic.twitter.com/s7kNzeY1TB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 9, 2022
In Buffalo, he recorded 2,730 total receiving yards and 27 touchdowns on 163 receptions in 64 games played. However, Davis struggled to produce at the same level in his lone season with the Jaguars. He appeared in just 10 games before suffering a torn meniscus, finishing with 20 receptions for 239 yards and two touchdowns.
Still, Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton ranked him as the second-best free agent available in the market, and the best among the receivers due to his “electric big-play” potential. Moton named the Steelers and the Browns as his top two potential landing spots, but he suggested that Pittsburgh, which has hosted him for a visit, was the better one.
“In a well-designed offense, Davis can return to form as one of the league’s top No. 2 receivers,” Moton wrote. “He would be an ideal fit with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who acquired wideout DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.
“With Aaron Rodgers in the fold, the Steelers should do whatever it takes to surround him with playmakers. Metcalf cannot move the needle alone in the passing game. Pittsburgh must find an upgrade over Robert Woods and Calvin Austin III at the No. 2 receiver spot.”
The Steelers had a clear WR2 in George Pickens but shipped him to the Dallas Cowboys earlier this offseason, partly due to his off-field issues. Davis can immediately fill that slot, and even if he may not have produced as much as Pickens, he is nevertheless a reliable option.
Meanwhile, the only move Cleveland made this offseason at wide receiver was the signing of Diontae Johnson, who played for three different teams last season, and is best suited as a rotational piece at the moment. The Browns have Cedric Tilman listed as the No. 2 receiver after he showed flashes of brilliance last year before going down with a concussion in Week 12, logging 29 grabs for 339 yards and three scores.
However, Tilman has yet to recover fully and hasn’t been practicing at the minicamp. While he will be ready to play by the time the season starts, it would perhaps be better for the Browns to acquire a veteran receiver like Keenan Allen or Amari Cooper as they look to groom one of their rookie quarterbacks into a franchise signal-caller.
