Not only did the Steelers make a bevy of roster cuts on Tuesday, but they also traded late-round draft picks to the Broncos and Vikings for outside linebacker Malik Reed and offensive guard Jesse Davis.
What are the Steelers getting in Reed and Davis?
In Reed, the Steelers are getting an extremely competent third edge defender to play behind and rotate with TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith. Reed is adept at playing on either the right or left side and has plenty of starting experience with the Broncos.
Reed, 26, went undrafted coming out of Nevada in 2019, but he logged just under 2,000 snaps for the Broncos over his three seasons in Denver, including well over 700 snaps in each of the past two seasons. You might think that Reed’s workload only went up after the Broncos traded Von Miller to the Rams, but Reed consistently played a major role the entire 2021 season with or without Miller in the equation.
Reed started a total of 34 games for the Broncos, but without question, benefitted from a playing time perspective with Miller’s 2020 injury and Bradley Chubb’s missed time last season.
Reed has 17 career sacks, including 14 over the past two seasons and was very productive at the college level. He is a flexible edge bender with very good get off. He loses very little speed while turning the corner and doesn’t give blockers a lot of surface area to get their hands on him.
This is a twitched-up athlete who is abrupt changing directions with a very good final closing burst. He is a natural knee bender with good ankle flexion as well, but Reed is a little undersized at just 6-foot-1 and under 240 pounds. He does make up for not being the biggest edge defender by playing with toughness, hustle and leverage.
Reed’s lack of ideal size doesn’t hurt him all that much, although there are times when he could be stouter at the line of scrimmage against the run. But Reed can bull rush his opponent, particularly tight ends, with leverage and his low center of gravity, mixed with a nice combination of upper- and lower-body power for his size.
Reed also shows quick, powerful hands and a motor that doesn’t stop. Here's a clip of him displaying those qualities against the Steelers last season:
The Broncos occasionally asked Reed to drop into coverage, which he did quite well. He is not going to play man coverage against tight ends or receiving backs, but he certainly could drop into flats, as the Steelers sometimes ask of Watt and Highsmith. In fact, Reed has a good feel for coverage for a player who does his best work as an attacker. Reed did have four pass defenses with the Broncos.
Many thought that Reed would have to transition to playing as an off-the-ball linebacker in the NFL, but he has certainly made playing on the edge work at this level.
The Broncos only moved on from Reed because he no longer fits their scheme after their recent coaching change. The Steelers will take on all of Reed’s contract worth just over $2.4 million, as the Broncos didn’t give him a signing bonus when signing him after the 2021 season.
As a special teams player, it is uncertain what Reed’s role will be with the Steelers. Considering he is now a backup, Reed certainly could be a part of every phase. But last year with the Broncos, for the most part, Reed only contributed on the kick block team.
Davis will turn 31 in a few weeks and, like Reed, his contract is set to expire after this season. Also like Reed, Davis has played a lot of snaps in the league since going undrafted out of Idaho in 2015.
The Seahawks signed Davis coming out of college and he spent a very short time with the Jets before joining the Dolphins in Nov. 2016. He started two games for the Dolphins in 2017 and took over as their starting right guard in 2018.
Davis was the Dolphins' starting right tackle to start the 2021 season, but moved to left guard for Week 3 and 4 before moving back to right tackle for the remainder of the season. He finished the year with 922 snaps at right tackle and 135 at left guard on what was, admittedly, possibly the worst offensive line in the NFL last year.
Ed Ingram beat out Davis for the Vikings' starting right guard spot on what should be a high-quality offensive line.
The Vikings signed Davis to a one-year contract worth $3 million this past offseason, half of that coming in a signing bonus, leaving the Steelers with a very friendly contract to pick up. Before the 2019 season, the Dolphins inked Davis to a three-year, $15 million dollar deal in which he played the entire deal in Miami.
These contracts demonstrate that Davis has been someone who the league values, and while he doesn’t have the ability to play left tackle, Davis might challenge for the starting left guard slot. But the most likely scenario is that he is a valuable depth piece or sixth man for a Steelers line that needs all the help it can get.
Davis is just under 6-foot-6 and weighed in at 309 pounds at Idaho’s 2015 Pro Day. He looks as though he has added some good weight since then. His strength and agility are both above the necessary requirements, but he doesn’t really have a trait that stands out in a massively negative or positive manner.
Davis has proven to be more or less an average NFL run blocker and pass protector. “Average” is something the Steelers' offensive line should strive for right now, and the addition of Davis could help get them closer to that not-so-lofty goal.
Reed and Davis are not huge additions who will shape the Steelers' season. However, the third outside linebacker spot was barren and any offensive line help should be well appreciated. Plus, the Steelers didn’t give up much in the way of draft capital or salary cap space to reinforce these important spots on their roster as they prepare to travel to Cincinnati in Week 1.
