San Diego Chargers Draft Busts - #2 Sammy Davis

What it is with the Chargers and late-first round picks, I'll never know. Certain teams seem to thrive on grabbing those guys that are sure-things but not star players in that spot. The Chargers seem to do a great job, with the #30 pick in the draft, of grabbing guys that never amount to anything.

There's not a ton to say about Sammy, because his career was so painfully dull. I suppose his rookie season was alright, when h picked off two passes and had 10 defended passes total to go along with 58 tackles. However, two things were made obvious that season to anyone who watched more than a few minutes of a Chargers game.

1. You could throw on Sammy Davis.
2. You should probably throw away from Quentin Jammer.

Davis started all 16 games of his rookie season, and many hoped he was primed for a breakout season in 2004. He wasn't. Despite again collecting 10 defended passes (did I mention he was on a defense with Jammer and Jamal Williams?), Sammy had just 1 interception and just 38 tackles. He also started in just 10 games and missed 4 games entirely. The next Quentin Jammer, he was not.

If 2004 was a sign that Davis was losing ground to Drayton Florence, 2005 was the equivalent of someone carving that message into the side of the moon for the whole world to see. Davis, despite staying healthy all season, lost his starting job to Florence after just 4 games. Playing mostly as the nickel CB, Davis managed 1 sack, 3 defended passes, a forced fumble and 28 tackles. Obviously not living up to the expectations of a first-round pick, Davis was released (Editor's Note: Friendly twitterer @wild_bluejay points out that Davis was not released, but rather traded for J.J. Stokes.....which is pretty much the same thing.).

The next two seasons showed the actual value of Davis against his perceived value. He spent a season as the nickel CB on one of league's worst passing defenses in San Francisco before playing as the 4th best CB on Tampa Bay for a season. His Wikipedia page lists him as a free agent. At 27 years old, and after just 5 seasons, Sammy left a league that he didn't seem to belong in.

I still don't exactly understand why Sammy was drafted in the first place. His college numbers were not amazing (11 interceptions in 3 years) and he wasn't huge (5'11'). I guess his 4.42 time at the combine probably turned a few heads, and in that regard he was probably drafted for the same reason Buster Davis was: speed.

Luckily, Sammy wasn't stupid. After football he made some money founding a real estate investment firm, and has used some of that money to purchase an ABA team called the Austin Capitals. Here's to hoping him the best.

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