Welcome WR Derius Davis, TCU (Round 4, #125)

[21&500]

Pete should just give us next year's #2 for him now.

10 Points for a Clipboard Jesus reference.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

well, we don't have any defenders that can keep up with his speed, there may not be 10 guys in the entire league that can. Coaches will be looking more for can he run crisp tree branches as designed, does he get off the LOS without being mauled by DBs, does he adjust to the ball in flight and catch it, you know - WR-ish type attributes. He could run crossing routes from the slot, its a jet sweep that starts 7 yards downfield - lets see a S or LB try to track him across the field lol. but can he get off the LOS vs bigger DBs without getting all tangled up and thrown off timing?

You were more specific that *eye* was, but I think we're saying the same thing.

If we see Davis doing anything beyond returning kicks? It's because-- and *only* because-- he SHINED in practice.

[Fleet 1]

I ask in all seriousness, did Davis not play much last season? Most of these highlights look like they are from 2021? The only reason I can tell that is look at all of TCU's records on the scoreboard, none of them reflect last season's crazy run?

You can tell that because his number is 12 and 11 in some clips. I think this is a career highlight video.

[Boltnut]

Who are the 4 receivers? I got Allen, MW, Guyton, Palmer, Davis. Which one sits?

On weak run defenses you will not see Davis.

Davis is our return guy. Beyond that we have to see how he fits in. I'm saying very limited role on offense.
His big value to us is in the return game, both PR, and KR. If he's going to shine that's where it will be.

If I put 4 WR's out there it would depend on what I wanted to do with the ball/play. And THAT is exactly the point I'm trying to make.
If you want a play that nets you 8 yards on 1st down: MW, KA, JP, and QJ. 2 to the right, 2 to the left. KA and JP in opposite slots. Stretch the field with MW and QJ. Create space for KA and JP.
If you want a bubble screen: QJ, MW, and DD in a bunch on one side. KA on the opposite side. Eke in the backfield to the bunch side. Numbers flood one side and is hell on a defense.
From that formation, put DD in motion pre-snap toward the weak side. Jet sweep... or read the defensive rotation and hit him in the flat.
Send him in motion to the weak side and hit Eke in the opposite flat...

The possibilities are endless... use your imagination. We have the OC to employ a million different ideas. And now we have the personnel to do it.

[electricgold]

Some sites list Derius Davis 5'8 in height and some list him as 5'10??? NFL draft buzz has him projected as a Undrafted Free Agent?

Its hard to get full college stats on him but I believe he was in college for close to 5 years and had his best season last year. He got half his production on returns and half playing WR's....

As a WR last season:
REC
42
YDS
531
TD
5
AVG
12.6

TT rated Derius Davis higher than all these WR's drafted after him and used the fact that he was the fasted player at the combine to justify picking him in the 4th round:



15) Derius Davis, TCU
Round 4, Pick 125 | Chargers

16) Charlie Jones, Purdue
Round 4, Pick 131 | Bengals

17) Tyler Scott, Cincinnati
Round 4, Pick 133 | Bears

18) Justin Shorter, Flordia
Round 5, Pick 150 | Bills

19) Dontayvion Wicks, Virgina
Round 5, Pick 159 | Packers

20) Puka Nacua, BYU
Round 5, Pick 177 | Rams

21) Parker Washington, Penn State
Round 6, Pick 185 | Jaguars

22) Kayshon Boutte, LSU
Round 6, Pick 187 | Patriots

23) Trey Palmer, Nebraska
Round 6, Pick 191 | Buccaneers

24) A.T. Perry, Wake Forest
Round 6, Pick 195 | Saints

25) Elijah Higgins, Stanford
Round 6, Pick 197 | Dolphins

26) Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State
Round 6, Pick 205 | Texans

27) Andrei Iosivas, Princeton
Round 6, Pick 206 | Bengals

28) Demario Douglas, Liberty
Round 6, Pick 210 | Patriots

29) Antoine Green, North Carolina
Round 7, Pick 219 | Lions

30) Colton Dowell, Tennessee-Martin
Round 7, Pick 228 | Titans

31) Jalen Brooks, South Carolina
Round 7, Pick 244 | Cowboys

32) Ronnie Bell, Michigan
Round 7, Pick 253 | 49ers

33) Grant DuBose, Charlotte
Round 7, Pic 256 GB

[Cdn Bolt]

Some sites list Derius Davis 5'8 in height and some list him as 5'10??? NFL draft buzz has him projected as a Undrafted Free Agent?

Its hard to get full college stats on him but I believe he was in college for close to 5 years and had his best season last year. He got half his production on returns and half playing WR's....

As a WR last season:
REC
42
YDS
531
TD
5
AVG
12.6

TT rated Derius Davis higher than all these WR's drafted after him and used the fact that he was the fasted player at the combine to justify picking him in the 4th round:

I didn't get this pick either as I am sure they could have easily gotten him in rnd 6 at the worst even w his KR skills. Because of his size and radius it will be kind of limiting in his WR abilities too.

We didn't need to burn a 4th rnder and taking the fastest is something Al Davis would do in his lousy drafts.

[richpjr]

TT rated Derius Davis higher than all these WR's drafted after him and used the fact that he was the fasted player at the combine to justify picking him in the 4th round:

TT used the fact that he was the best returner in college last year and that is why he was drafted.

[La Costa Boy]

I cannot wait to see this kid flash. 5 td's in 44 punt return opps last year? That's over 11% of the time he took it to the house. I'll take 3 next year, one each versus the Chiefs, Raiders and Broncos.

[ThatSinkingFeeling]

Once you get past the first few rounds, isn't basically anyone of the type you could get later in the draft? Couldn't one argue that the likes of McFadden, Matlock and Duggan also be available later as well? Maybe they could've signed Matlock and Duggan as UDFAs, but you never know. Perhaps some team would take Davis right behind the Chargers, or maybe not. If they liked him enough, then better safe than sorry.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

TT used the fact that he was the best returner in college last year and that is why he was drafted.

I'll be curious to see if ST Coordinator Ryan Ficken does anything out of the ordinary in an effort to capitalize on Davis' talents.

Reverses? We sure haven't seen many of *those* over the last few decades. Pass backs (long laterals past the opposite hashmark)? Have I *ever* seen the Chargers try one of those?!?

If there are ways to get a guy like Davis "in space", you presumably explore those. Or else, there's really not much purpose spending a 4th round pick on a guy who will return kicks in a league where 85% of kickoffs are touchbacks.

To Davis' credit, he appears equally talented returning punts as he is at returning Kickoffs. That wasn't true of either Andre Roberts (2021) or DeAndre Carter (2022).

I've heard Staley talk before about how he wants Special Teams to be a WEAPON, not just the units that safely supervise the transfer of possession of the ball from one team to the other. So to the degree Staley means it, we should be seeing a more dynamic contribution from the ST Units, moving forward.

[21&500]

I'll be curious to see if ST Coordinator Ryan Ficken does anything out of the ordinary in an effort to capitalize on Davis' talents.

Reverses? We sure haven't seen many of *those* over the last few decades. Pass backs (long laterals past the opposite hashmark)? Have I *ever* seen the Chargers try one of those?!?

If there are ways to get a guy like Davis "in space", you presumably explore those. Or else, there's really not much purpose spending a 4th round pick on a guy who will return kicks in a league where 85% of kickoffs are touchbacks.

To Davis' credit, he appears equally talented returning punts as he is at returning Kickoffs. That wasn't true of either Andre Roberts (2021) or DeAndre Carter (2022).

I've heard Staley talk before about how he wants Special Teams to be a WEAPON, not just the units that safely supervise the transfer of possession of the ball from one team to the other. So to the degree Staley means it, we should be seeing a more dynamic contribution from the ST Units, moving forward.

Duggan should be considered for this ST role.
pass back to Davis.

[charger1_sj]

If I put 4 WR's out there it would depend on what I wanted to do with the ball/play. And THAT is exactly the point I'm trying to make.
If you want a play that nets you 8 yards on 1st down: MW, KA, JP, and QJ. 2 to the right, 2 to the left. KA and JP in opposite slots. Stretch the field with MW and QJ. Create space for KA and JP.
If you want a bubble screen: QJ, MW, and DD in a bunch on one side. KA on the opposite side. Eke in the backfield to the bunch side. Numbers flood one side and is hell on a defense.
From that formation, put DD in motion pre-snap toward the weak side. Jet sweep... or read the defensive rotation and hit him in the flat.
Send him in motion to the weak side and hit Eke in the opposite flat...

The possibilities are endless... use your imagination. We have the OC to employ a million different ideas. And now we have the personnel to do it.

I only see DD in bubble screens and jet sweeps. So why wouldn't the defense see it coming? You haven't explained.

On the other hand if you have 3 WR and a TE you can run, pass, bubble screen, jet sweep. Which 3? I don't see DD.

We can use DD when we go 4 WR on passing downs to stretch the field. We can go hurry up and really mess thing up for the coverage
scheme. But I just don't see DD being a big part of the offense. He's going to make his living returning KR, PR or not at all.

And that's great if he can do a good job. But still think they don't have to take him in the 4th, especially when there were many options
at different positions.