San Diego Chargers: Defending the Buster Davis Draft Selection

by John Gennaro on Nov 21, 2011 3:30 PM PST in BFTB Editorials

Wide Receiver Buster Davis #84 of the San Diego Chargers. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

With the San Diego Chargers 2011 season quickly becoming irrelevant, and rabid fans turning into angry fans, I thought it would be poignant to go back and look at some of the frequently-mentioned "mistakes" of this Bolts regime and see if there might've been another option. Let's start with a weak spot for myself, Buster Davis.

Team Need
Coming off of a 14-2 season that ended with a first-round playoff exit, San Diego was losing more starters than they were probably comfortable with. Still, they were bringing back the same offensive line, playmaking TE, hall of fame RB and a QB that looked poised to lead the team to the Super Bowl with the proper grooming. Enter Norv Turner, who was handed a young, raw Vincent Jackson and nothing else as his WR group. Line a speed WR up opposite Jackson, and this offense would be unstoppable.

Free Agency
I know what you're saying. They didn't need to get a WR in the draft to start right away, they could've easily just went and picked up the best free agent WR. Right? Well, let's see what was available....

Donte Stallworth (signed with NE)
Drew Bennett (signed with StL)
Kevin Curtis (signed with PHI)
Bobby Wade (signed with MIN)
Eric Moulds (signed with TEN)

Those are the top 5 WRs available via free agency in 2007. If that doesn't give you an idea of what the market was like, let me throw some more names at you: Tyrone Calico, Justin Gage, David Boston....okay, that's enough. There was next to nothing available for a team lacking in WR. This is probably why 6 of the first 32 picks in the NFL Draft were WRs.

2007 NFL Draft

Here are the WRs that were drafted in front of CBD:

Here are the four WRs drafted after CBD:

Anthony Gonzalez
Sidney Rice
Dwayne Jarrett
Steve Smith (Giants)

Would I rather have Sidney Rice or Steve Smith? Of course I would. Do I understand why they picked Buster Davis instead of either of those two guys? I guess. Sidney Rice ran slow at the NFL Draft Combine and has had injury issues of his own. Steve Smith ran a good time at the Combine, but was viewed as a possession receiver that couldn't stretch defenses (which has turned out to be true).

At the time of the draft, Davis and Rice weren't too different and Smith was a step below. The difference was that Buster was the fastest of the three and considered the closest thing to a "finished product", which is extra important when you realize that the Chargers needed a starting WR. Here's a scouting report on Davis from before the draft:

Davis is a well-built target who runs precise routes, and many experts consider him to have the best hands of any receiver in the Southeastern Conference. A tireless worker, he spent part of the 2006 summer running routes and catching passes from Peyton and Eli Manning at the annual Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Source

Doesn't that sound like a wonderful WR to land? A very AJ Smith-like pick? Great hands, tireless worker, precise routes....he could start right away! Anthony Gonzalez was also known for running good routes and having good hands, but because of his size he was thought to not be starting WR material.

Bad Luck/Injuries

So you understand why the Chargers picked Buster Davis now. They needed a starting WR (when Buster didn't work out immediately they were forced to trade for Chris Chambers, then made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game), there were no good FA WRs and he was the most polished WR where the Chargers picked that had blazing speed and a tireless work ethic. He made perfect sense.

When you ask why it didn't work out, the answer is obvious. Buster Davis couldn't stay healthy in NFL, making it impossible for him to make an impact for San Diego in the way that they had hoped. His hands were good, his speed was always there, he ran great routes and had a good attitude to go along with his strong work ethic. His body just failed him.

So now....the big question.....is this something that AJ Smith should've seen? Well, yes and no. Buster got injured a bit in college, including missing time with a broken elbow in his freshman season. He also missed two games during his junior season with plantar fasciitis and a concussion. However, fully-healthy seasons in his sophomore and senior seasons, not to mention the limited amount of time he missed due to his other injuries, gave signs that he would be a "tough" player that wouldn't be sitting on the sidelines with minor injuries.

The reason the Craig "Buster" Davis pick didn't work out for the Chargers is simple: Bad luck. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes a player that should be healthy isn't, and it's not the fault of the GM or even the doctors that inspected the player. Anything can happen in the future, including a body not being able to withstand the beating of the NFL when it was perfectly capable of handling everything college football threw at it.

It could've been worse. We could've had the 9th pick in the draft and picked Ted Ginn Jr. over Dwayne Bowe.

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Comments

In those few moments...

When he was actualy healthy he showed flashes of his talent and actually contrubuted to the team.

However the bad part of that is that is was maybe 10% of his time with us. The other 90% was spent out hurt.

You can’t predict those types of things could derail his career, i guess it’s just the risk you take with any player.

Better pick than Larry English IMO.

by LT_21 on Nov 21, 2011 3:39 PM PST reply actions

I'll get to that one

Have to do more research first. This Buster thing happened because I was suspicious as to why they didn’t grab a FA when they were obviously looking for a starter.

The English pick wasn’t a starter pick, it was a project pick. Like “We need you to replace Merriman in a year and be pretty good until then too.” That’s a different story. You’d wish that, for a pick like that, he’d have more upside than English had. Again, needs more research.

Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.

by John Gennaro on Nov 21, 2011 3:42 PM PST up reply actions

I also don't think the first round is a place for project picks.

Especially not pick #16.

A pirate I was meant to be!
"You say you're nasty pirates,
scheming, thieving, bad bushwackers?
From what I've seen I tell you
You're not pirates, you're just slackers!"

by Zach (maestro876) on Nov 21, 2011 4:37 PM PST up reply actions

So the Colts should pass on Luck with Manning coming back next season?

So I guess this means the Phillies making it past the 1st round of the 2010 post season was a fluke.

by Goofus on Nov 22, 2011 3:17 PM PST up reply actions

I have always agreed that a healthy Buster Davis was just the type of player that this offense needed

he had the speed to turn those underneath routes into big plays…it just never panned out quite that way.

by jkvandal on Nov 21, 2011 4:03 PM PST reply actions

should have picked dwayne bowe

should have picked demarcus ware

should have picked clay mathews

should have kept drew brees and marty.

shouldnt have gotten rid of rodney harrison

should have kept sproles

Ladainian should have stayed in 2006 form forever

phillip rivers should try to be more like aaron rodgers

^this is the super bowl formula

canadas marriage is like their money, or military, no one takes it seriously

by bot on Nov 21, 2011 4:48 PM PST reply actions

Bowe and Ware were off the board when the Chargers picked.

I can see you’re kidding but I needed to point that out because I’m ill.

Bolts from the Blue // "Go for the throat, Norval." - Jim Rome
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Nov 21, 2011 7:07 PM PST up reply actions

they may have been off the board

but thats no excuse for not picking them

canadas marriage is like their money, or military, no one takes it seriously

by bot on Nov 21, 2011 11:00 PM PST up reply actions

Should have drafted Tebow...

Tebow? Tebow!

As a Bronco fan, I can’t believe that every front page story here isn’t about Tebow. Enough about my opinion of Tebow, what do you think about Tebow?

Maya: "What are your first impressions of Denver?"
Mozgov: "I must break you..."

by margabelle on Nov 21, 2011 4:59 PM PST reply actions

You are in need of sarcasm font

I hate scooter pie

by Lmbs2slaghtr on Nov 21, 2011 7:40 PM PST up reply actions

Don't see the point if this Article..

Buster Davis was an injury risk to begin with, hurt in college and not surprisingly hurt in the NFL. Still we draft him in the first instead of his team mate bowe. I hope we draft Blackmon.

You should write an article on someone needing to teach Rivers on how to properly throw away the ball and Mathews always fumbling the ball on crusial moments of the game. Also on how AJ likes to draft prone pkayers. I hope the Chargers lose out the rest of the year so we can have high draft picks, god knows we need talent.

by BOLTUREYE on Nov 21, 2011 5:13 PM PST via mobile reply actions

Don't see the point of this comment...

Bolts from the Blue // "Go for the throat, Norval." - Jim Rome
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Nov 21, 2011 7:08 PM PST up reply actions

Why do we need a WR?

There are other needs

I hate scooter pie

by Lmbs2slaghtr on Nov 21, 2011 7:42 PM PST up reply actions

Good editorial

It’s easy to forget drafting players is inherently risky and decisions are not made in a vacuum.

by Smoove V on Nov 21, 2011 5:42 PM PST reply actions

Because ours can barely ever get open.

But yeah, our defense has really taken a nose dive after Rivera, Siler, and Burnett left. Hopefully, AJ doesn’t blow more picks on undersized and/or injury prone players.

by Kame on Nov 21, 2011 11:09 PM PST up reply actions

I guess CBD showed flashes of being a first round talent...

But at what point is 1st round wide receiver talent off the board, not that AJ ever cares about round projections anyway. The Chambers trade later says to me that they could have gone in a different direction at the draft and still try to solidify the offense depth some other way. Darren Smith had a quick note on his show that Norv was really championing CBD pick while AJ was targeting a linebacker. Yeah overall CBD just had really bad luck, but yo got to figure that they could have gotten the best player left on the board rather then going with the 5th WR taken in the first round.

by friarshock on Nov 21, 2011 6:14 PM PST reply actions

Great Insight

Great article John. My thoughts, complacency has no room in NFL and Chargers always look complacent in win or lose.

by HisBoltness on Nov 21, 2011 6:24 PM PST reply actions

why not just take weddle in the first

and then you don’t have to trade a 2nd, two 3rds and a 5th.
Drafting for need leads to reaches. Plus, I’m not sure it’s best to take a college team’s 2nd best WR in the first round, ever.

by sirbud on Nov 21, 2011 10:06 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

Great write up John

but it seems like piling on AJ good job at drafting. look i understood why the took him, i get it, but when it’s time to trade up they don’t, and this was one of those time to do so. Injuries are unpredictable, however at what point, in his 4 year deal, was it time to cut your loses and move on? that in IMO is where a GM must make hard decisions and just say " we’re moving on, it didn’t work out."

The peanut gallery has spoken!!!

by gatesoftds on Nov 22, 2011 12:57 AM PST reply actions

I believe that all those WRs were quite a bit more productive than buster.
I remember thinking "who is this guy" when they drafted him.
And then the TV people were like “Oh it’s the other receiver from LSU.”
I may be remembering this wrong but I thought the general consensus was that CBD was a reach.
We just seem to have a disturbing trend of noncontributing/producing draft picks.
We must have the highest draft pick to IR ratio of any team.
Quick someone look it up.

by Norcal Boltfan on Nov 22, 2011 1:08 AM PST reply actions

Aside from Rice

I’m not sure any of them would have been a better pick at the time, and that’s based on his one solid season with Favre. Gonzalez can’t stay healthy either, Jarrett hasn’t played in a year and a half, and Smith wasn’t what they needed, and was “the other WR from USC”.

by Kevron on Nov 22, 2011 10:01 AM PST via iPhone app up reply actions

Stats

Dwayne Bowe – 4,518 yds – 35 TDs
Calvin Johnson – 5,165 yds – 44 TDs
Sidney Rice – 2,613 yds – 20 TDs
Steve Smith – 2,510 yds – 12 TDs
Ted Ginn – 1,942 – 6 TDs + 6 ST TDs
Anthony Gonzalez – 1,307 yds – 7TDs
Buster Davis – 558 yds – 2 TDs
Dwayne Jarrett – 428 yds – 1 TD

we picked the 2nd least productive of the group.
Just wonder if some of those yds and TDs would have helped us win some games over th last couple of years.

by Norcal Boltfan on Nov 22, 2011 1:37 PM PST up reply actions

Thoughtful article

First time I saw him return a punt I was shocked at seeing this big man with moves like Darren Sproles; I was looking for big things thereafter: what a shame.

by S.D. Native on Nov 22, 2011 3:21 AM PST reply actions

I didn't have a problem with the draft pick

but I think it was more than bad luck and injuries that kept him from being a solid player. Even when he was healthy I just didn’t see all the incredible flashes that a lot of others did.

A lot of picks in the NFL draft just don’t work out.

by JeromeB on Nov 22, 2011 7:50 AM PST reply actions

Nice Post

Well researched. Always bugs me when people use the benefit of hindsight to complain about our draft picks/play selection/etc. Given the information they had at the time, they made a logical decision. Sometimes things don’t work out.

by SuperSalami on Nov 22, 2011 8:45 AM PST reply actions

Agreed

But when you draft out of absolute need (RM, Todman), you tend to reach. Drafting is a risk, but player evaluation and progressive thinking is a skill. There is alot to be said about drafting a quality player at a position not of immediate need that can become a dominant player in a year or 2 when his oppurtunity comes. The Eagles and Andy Reid do a great job of drafting for the future, and then those players step in and shine. Most of the time.

by Eman3737 on Nov 22, 2011 9:23 AM PST reply actions