Jaguars’ Coach Sounds Off On New WR Gabe Davis’ Role

The Jacksonville Jaguars lost wide receiver Calvin Ridley to free agency, but they were able to sign fellow wide out Gabe Davis, and head coach Doug Pederson has high hopes for him.

While speaking about Davis recently, Pederson praised his versatility and thinks he can represent a significant part of the Jaguars’ offense because of it.

“Gabe is, to me, like a Swiss Army knife,” Pederson said, via Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union. “He can obviously run routes, the guy is right around 81-82 targets a year for the last four years if you average them out. He’s a big part of the offense in Buffalo.”

Davis spent the first four years of his career with the Buffalo Bills and is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he played every game and caught 45 passes for 746 yards and seven touchdowns.

“Just his style of play,” continued Pederson. “He’s big, he runs extremely well, he’s physical as far as blocking. There’s a reason why he averaged about 80-plus targets a year. He’s a down-the-field guy, much like Marvin Jones (Jr.) our first year.”

At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Davis certainly has a large frame, and he has also displayed big-play ability. Two years ago, he hauled in 48 receptions for 836 yards and seven scores, averaging an impressive 17.4 yards per catch. Then, going back to the 2021-22 playoffs, Davis racked up four touchdown grabs in an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round.

“I think he’s going to be another key piece to what we’re doing and we can put him in positions to block, we can put him in positions to run, he’s a good route runner, he’s strong, he’s big, he’s local,” Pederson said.

Clearly, Pederson has his sights set on a big year for Gabe Davis, who has yet to hit the 1,000-yard mark in a single season. We’ll see if he can achieve that feat in 2024.