First Call: Former Steelers WR thinks George Pickens is better than DK Metcalf; ex-Steeler DB joins Browns

Tuesday’s “First Call” has a less-than-glowing prediction about how things will go at the Steelers’ wide receiver position from a player who knows that spot well.

A former Steeler has latched on with the Cleveland Browns. We track the movements of a potential free-agent target for the Steelers, and we follow Megan McConnell’s preseason in Arizona.

Plaxico’s proclamation

Plaxico Burress doesn’t think that the Steelers are going to be better at the wide receiver position with DK Metcalf being their No. 1 target instead of George Pickens.

The former Steelers receiver made that assessment on the “Up On Game” podcast while discussing the team’s decision to trade Pickens to Dallas last week.

“They didn’t get any better. I don’t believe — when it comes down to playing the position and playing the game of football — that DK Metcalf is a better wide receiver than George Pickens. I would not agree (with) that,” Burress said. “We know that George Pickens, when he’s playing and he’s focused, he’s one of the top five ball players at the position. There’s no dispute in that. There’s no doubt about it, but we’ve got to get the young man focused so he can reach his full potential and become one of these elite wide receivers in all of football.”

Yeah, exactly, Plex. That’s the problem. He can’t be reached. And good luck making it happen in Dallas.

By the way, I think there were times when people may have said similar things about Burress throughout his career, but I digress.

One point that Burress did make that holds some water is that Pickens may be easier to manage if he gets more targets with the Cowboys. He should, since they have a better quarterback in Dak Prescott than the Steelers have had in recent years, and an offense that may not be as run-heavy as was the case here.

Pickens will certainly be on a big stage to start his Cowboys career. It was revealed on Monday that Dallas will be visiting the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles for the NBC Thursday night regular season NFL opener at 8:20 p.m. on Sept. 4.

Watching the wide receivers

Now that the Steelers have a hole at the No. 2 wide receiver position — again — we’ll be keeping an eye on where free agents at that position may wind up as they shop for new contracts.

One such player is Gabe Davis. He was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars with a failed physical designation. But if he gets healthy, he could be a weapon.

The San Francisco 49ers appear to be thinking that way. They brought him in for a visit on Monday, according to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz.

The #49ers are hosting former #Jaguars and #Bills WR Gabe Davis on a visit, per source.

Davis is recovering from an injury he dealt with this past season, but is expected to be fully healthy for the 2025 campaign. pic.twitter.com/3b6Z6rUeiB

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 12, 2025

San Francisco could use receiver help, too, seeing as how Deebo Samuel is now in Washington, and Brandon Aiyuk is still recovering from a devastating knee injury a year ago.

Davis played in 10 games last year, thanks to a meniscus tear that ended his season in November. He had just 20 catches on 42 targets for 239 yards and two scores.

Before playing in Jacksonville, Davis put up 27 touchdowns in four years with Buffalo. One of them was for 98 yards against the Steelers back in 2022.

GABE DAVIS. 98 YARDS. ????

????: #PITvsBUF on CBS
????: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/5bVODjrAl5 pic.twitter.com/hfkMpMKH7Z

— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022

Davis averaged 16.7 yards per catch as a Bill.

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Safety swap

The Cleveland Browns have picked up free-agent safety Damontae Kazee. The former Steeler is joined by fellow veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins and three rookie minicamp tryout products at wide receiver — Luke Floriea, Kisean Johnson, and Cade McDonald — as new members of the Dawg Pound.

Kazee spent the past three years in Pittsburgh, playing in 38 games. The eight-year vet totaled five interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 112 tackles in that time.

Kazee will replace Juan Thornhill, who signed with the Steelers earlier in the free-agent process. So it’s almost a swap of safeties within the AFC North. It’s obvious Thornhill is viewing it that way, posting on his X account “Can’t wait !!! This (expletive) is Personal,” within an hour of the news becoming public thanks to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

A few hours later, Thornhill tried to rally the Steelers fan base some more.

#SteelersNation Yinz Ready for the season or what?

— The Chosen Juan????????????‍♂️ (@Juan_Thornhill) May 12, 2025

Thornhill played for the Browns the last two seasons.

Meg makes a big shot

On Monday, we mentioned how Chartiers Valley alum T.J. McConnell was doing good things for the Indiana Pacers during the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals.

It turns out his sister, Megan, may be making an impact during her first preseason in the WNBA. The Phoenix Mercury rookie buried a clutch jumper during a game on Sunday night against the Golden State Valkyries.

CLUTCH 3 BY MEGAN MCCONNELL ????

GSV-PHX | Free on the WNBA App pic.twitter.com/BhQh3Jw3Il

— WNBA (@WNBA) May 12, 2025

However, Phoenix ended up losing 84-79 anyway. That was the only basket of the game for McConnell, who also put up three points in Phoenix’s first game of the preseason.

The former Duquesne Duke signed with Phoenix after going undrafted last month.