49ers Draft Nate Davis in 5th Round

Last summer, as Nate Davis prepared for his junior season at Ball St., some scouts thought he had the potential to be a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. He got off to a fast start but shaky showings against non-MAC teams -- including Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl -- raised questions about his productivity.

Then, at the NFL Combine, Davis measured only 6'1", struggled through the passing drills, and that was the beginning of a tumultuous few months. In March, only one team attended his pro day, and the news that he might suffer from a learning disability further lessened his draft value.

During our pre-draft podcast extravaganza last week, Football Outsiders' Doug Farrar pointed out that Seahawks backup quarterback Seneca Wallace had a learning disability but, with the help of the organization, was able to take classes to address the problem. Here's what then-head coach Mike Holmgren said about Wallace at the time:

I've mentioned this before: he has a learning disability -- reading situation. He was willing to go into a school that helped him with that. That to me is a special thing... It probably was a little embarrassing and made it difficult to learn at times in the classroom -- the football classroom -- but he worked hard to improve his skills. I applaud him for that. I like him a lot, as you can imagine. Now he gets his chance, and we're all counting on him...

It's been my experience with athletes that learn differently, that sometimes you don't know -- they have learned over the years to compensate to get the job done. I've always told my coaches, get to know your players well enough... There's lots of ways to teach.

Sunday, with the 171st pick, the 49ers drafted Davis. Hopefully, they'll work with their newest quarterback in much the same way the Seahawks worked with Wallace. It's worth noting that after serving as Matt Hasselbeck's backup for his first five seasons in the league, Wallace -- two years after going to school for his learning disability -- started 10 games, completed 58.3 percent of his throws, tossed 11 touchdowns to just three picks. The point: there are different paths to success, some more difficult than others.

For Davis, he comes into a situation in San Francisco where the quarterback situation is undecided, although the organization seems to be out of patience with 2005 first-overall pick Alex Smith.

Ironically, NFLDraftScout.com's scouting report on Davis compares him to Smith, writing that they both are, "... undersized passers who rely on their quickness, balance and feet to make big plays on the move. Davis is in the same situation as Alex Smith in that he would've greatly benefited from an additional year in college. If he is drafted into a rebuilding situation without a standout receiver or offensive line, Davis could quickly regress as Alex Smith did. How teams choose to handle Davis in his early NFL career will be critical. He could be devoured by unfriendly media and some are concerned that his last three performances, with Ball State aiming for an undefeated season and Davis looking to the NFL, showed he can't handle immense pressure."

Hmm. Well, the 49ers are in a rebuilding situation, and suddenly have a standout receiver in Michael Crabtree after selecting him 10th overall on Saturday. Hopefully, he'll be brought along slowly and given an opportunity to succeed, something Smith never got.

Davis comes across as a humble kid and a hard worker. You can never have enough of those guys in the locker room. And maybe that's what the 49ers were thinking when they drafted him.