Gabe Davis is anticipated to enter free agency after playing wide receiver with the Buffalo Bills for his first four seasons.
The Chicago Bears and Darnell Mooney, who will probably split ways after four seasons, can be said to feel the same.
For each of the 30 teams that aren’t playing in the Super Bowl, NFL.com’s Kevin Patra suggested one offseason move. For the Bears, that move is straightforward: acquire offensive playmakers. He suggested that Chicago target Davis and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown as potential receivers to complement star wideout DJ Moore.
“The Bears need to add Moore as a stud. On February 6, Patra wrote, “Adding a field-stretching veteran like Marquise Brown or Gabe Davis would fit nicely.”
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Davis is not the same wide receiver as the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Mooney. They are both four-year veterans. Davis has participated in 64 games, compared to Mooney’s 60. Still, the Bills wide receiver has higher stats.
Mooney has 11 touchdowns and 213 receptions for 2,593 yards (12.2 yards per catch). With 163 receptions for 2,730 yards (16.7 yards per catch), Davis has 27 touchdowns. Though at times both have posed a serious threat, Davis is unquestionably the greater danger in the red zone. In addition, he has demonstrated his abilities in crucial matches, something Mooney hasn’t had the chance to do.
Davis’s injuries kept him out of the playoffs in 2023, but he left his imprint in the previous postseason. In his seven postseason games, he has scored six touchdowns.
After going off against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game after the 2021 season, Davis has been hailed as a “playoff hero.” In that game, which the Bills eventually lost 42-36, he caught eight catches for 201 yards and four touchdowns.
Despite this, Davis has not been as steady as Mooney (Davis has dropped 19 passes in his career compared to Mooney’s 12 drops, according to Pro Football Focus). However, Davis might offer the big-play ability Mooney hasn’t yet shown.
Brad Spielberger of PFF stated on January 19 that Davis is “your typical vertical threat out wide, averaging more than 15 yards per reception in every season of his career and coming down with a fair amount of contested catches with good high-pointing skills.”
Davis lacks the quickest release off the line and the precision to cut off in-breakers quickly enough to create space over the center, though. He can occasionally have some spectacular outings and help an acquiring club extend the field outside the numbers, but he can also occasionally be missing from the box score.
Although he hasn’t yet had a 1,000-yard season, Davis—who will turn 25 in April—has reliably found the end zone, scoring seven touchdowns or more in three of his four seasons. In 2022, he had his greatest season with 48 receptions for 836 yards and 7 touchdowns. In 17 games in 2023, Davis ended up with 45 receptions for 746 yards and 7 touchdowns.
The Bears must exercise caution in order to avoid paying too much for him because of his career 54.5% catch percentage. What sort of cash is Davis likely to be seeking in the off-season?
While Spotrac values him at $13.6 million per year (four years at $54.5 million), PFF projects him to sign a one-year contract worth $12 million. Given that Davis is likely to want to sign a multi-year contract, it would be possible for the Bears to sign him for two or three seasons at a cost of about $12 million annually.
Bears need to find aid for edge rushing, locate a new center, and re-sign top cornerback Jaylon Johnson in addition to their wide receiver needs. While the draft will address some of those concerns, Chicago will almost certainly go to free agency to add more depth behind Moore. It will be interesting to observe if Davis get involved.