Jaguars WR Gabe Davis brings leadership and experience to the receivers room

When the Buffalo Bills faced the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, wide receiver Gabe Davis wanted to do his best. Not only to help his then-team, but he knew the Jaguars were a potential landing spot for him after the season.

Now, back in his home state, Davis is still doing his best as he settles in with his new team.

“Jacksonville was a team, I was like, ‘I want to show them what I’m about,’” said Davis, who was born just north of Jacksonville in Fernandina Beach and played college football at UCF. “Because you never know what’s going to happen.” Now look what happened.

The fifth-year veteran receiver joined the Jaguars via free agency this offseason after spending the early part of his career with the Bills where he recorded 2,730 yards, 163 catches and scored 27 touchdowns in four seasons.

Gene Frenette:Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars must find the right terms for both sides on the new contract

Davis saw a familiar face in the reception room when he arrived in Jacksonville. Chad Hall was his wide receivers coach in Buffalo and now holds the same position with the Jaguars.

Hall said that along with rookie Brian Thomas Jr., Davis was one of the smartest freshmen players he ever coached. He also praised him for his leadership at such a young age, noting that Davis was elected team captain at the age of 23.

” It’s a dog. He participates in every play. He never takes a game,” Hall said of Davis. “You’ll get everything he has every day, practice or game. That’s what he brings. And it’s not just what he expects of himself. He pushes the other guys around him and he expects that from everyone.

Davis has experience: 62 regular season games, seven playoff games in four years

Davis not only brings leadership, but also experience. Even though he is still a young player, he has participated in many important football matches. He also improved in these matches.

It’s something that Hall is excited about as the Jaguars continue to try to make their way to the upper echelon of the league.

“He’s been in these big playoff games, so he’s been under pressure,” Hall said. “I think it’s so valuable. (In) this league, experience is valuable.

Davis was limited in offseason workouts due to a knee injury from which he is recovering. Head coach Doug Pederson said the team is allowing him to take his time recovering, but he should be at full strength by the time training camp begins later in July.

It’s an adjustment, but that hasn’t stopped Davis from sharing his wisdom with the younger players and fully engaging throughout the grueling summer days.

“It was a little difficult coming into a new team, but then you had to take it step by step, slowly,” Davis said. “Not being able to go out there with the guys and compete, (or) being able to go out there and play some games with my boys, but I try to support them the best way I know how and be a good teammate. .”

For Davis, being a good teammate isn’t about getting glory or making sensational plays. It’s about doing the dirty work, the things that won’t show up on highlight film but are just as important if your team wants to win.

“Do whatever they ask of me. Whether it’s going out there in the B Gap and blocking the safety or catching deep touchdowns,” Davis said. “I mean, you have to be able to do everything and show the guys behind you that you know, you can do whatever it takes to win, so that’s my mindset.”

To Hall, it says a lot that a player comes in and is willing to sacrifice to win. This also means the team can run different games while keeping the same personnel, making it easier to hide what they want to do.

“It’s great when one of your starters can be that guy, that physical presence that can take over a block,” Hall said. “You can insert them at the line of scrimmage. You don’t have to hire someone else to do it.

Trevor Lawrence and Gabe Davis could be a dynamic combination

While Davis isn’t afraid to do the dirty work, one of his best abilities is being a threat on the court. He had receptions of 49 yards or more in each of his previous seasons. Associated with Trevor Lawrence, the duo could continue the streak this season.

“He’s a great quarterback. I watched him from afar,” Davis said when asked about Lawrence. “Being from Florida, I always watch Florida teams as they are, but I’m a big player. We all continue to grow together to bring down the chemistry. He and I are probably, as camp approaches, (we’ll get together) again to try to create that chemistry.

The two players were seen working on that chemistry during a stretch on special teams in the seventh OTA. Quarterbacks and receivers went to the Miller Electric Center far field to run some routes.

Lawrence threw passes to all the starting receivers, but after mistiming a pass to Davis, the two went back on track. Then, after completing the next passage, they huddled together to talk.

This is a common occurrence between quarterback and receiver, but it’s especially important since Davis hasn’t taken live reps against defenses.

Offensive coordinator Press Taylor discussed how the team brought the offense back to cleats to rebuild it this offseason. The addition of Davis plays a big role in this process, as does the addition of Thomas to the receiver room.

The team now has several pass catchers who can get on the outside of deep threats and can open up routes underneath for Christian Kirk and Evan Engram.

Taylor wants the offense to be more explosive this year and Davis feels like he has the tools to do that.

“I feel like he’s saying he’s telling the truth,” he said. “We just brought in (Brian Thomas Jr.). A deep threat from LSU, threw for 17 touchdowns. I averaged 17 yards per catch.

“I also had a lot of deep balls down the field. I know they want more of that deep ball aspect in their offense. When he says that, he means it.”

Career Statistics of Gabe Davis

Regular season

Years	Games	Receptions	Yards	T.D.
2020	16	35	599	7
2021	16	35	549	6
2022	15	48	836	7
2023	15	43	746	7

Post-season

Years	Games	Receptions	Yards	T.D.
2020	3	4	85	0
2021	3	ten	242	5
2022	2	9	147	1
2023*	0	0	0	0

* Injured and did not play in playoffs