Detroit Lions draft target: UTSA edge rusher Marcus Davenport
By Ash Thompson
The Detroit Lions are interviewing all of the drafts top-tier pass rushers. Despite a few twists and turns, UTSA’s Marcus Davenport qualifies.
The Detroit Lions have failed to add much to their pass rusher group in free agency this offseason. The team was among the worst in the league in producing pressure on the quarterback in 2017. There was nobody on the roster capable of taking advantage of the blocking schemes utilized by other teams. Opponents sold out to limit Ziggy Ansah‘s ability to affect the game. Most were successful, and the Lions could not capitalize on other opportunities.
It is difficult to imagine that the Lions will not spend significant draft resources on a pass rusher. Early in the draft process nearly every mock draft published on the subject had Marcus Davenport of UTSA going to the Detroit. Prior to the Senior Bowl, many even had Davenport jumping off the board in the top ten. Such is the nature of draft coverage on the internet. Everyone wants to be first. It is a difficult temptation to resist when there is a lot to like about a player.
Alas, much like Icarus, Davenport flew too close to the sun and his wings melted. He had been talked up so much leading into the Senior bowl that many were expecting to see a top ten player in Mobile. What they saw instead was a raw prospect coming out of Conference USA. He looked like he needed some work with better coaching.
Davenport tumbled down the internet’s draft boards until the scouting combine. Running a 4.58-second 40-yard dash and broad jumping 124″ tends to get the internet buzzing. Now everyone seems to agree that Davenport will likely go somewhere in the last 1/3 of the first round.
Marcus Davenport’s truth is not complicated, and it has not changed. He is a long player: standing 6’6″ with 33-5/8″ arms. He is a big and fast player, at 264 he outweighs Harold Landry by 12 lbs and Arden Key by 24 lbs. Davenport is not a finished product by any means, however. His unrefined game as a pass rusher though can be excused by the fact that UTSA is not a top tier program.
Like those players, Davenport will try to win with speed around the corner. If that fails he will try to convert that speed to power for a bull rush. If that fails, he loses. Unlike Key and Landry, however, Davenport has the frame to add weight and get stronger than he is now. He is also not an elite first step accelerator, but by the third step, he is flying. He is more like Cliff Avril in that regard than Ziggy Ansah.
Davenport’s place in the NFL is as a hand in the dirt lineman, there is no question about that in this case. His technique is lacking, and he will not likely contribute greatly as a rookie in anything but obvious passing situations. As a rookie, all the Lions need Davenport to be is a player that can contribute in obvious passing situations.
Next: Detroit Lions draft target Harold Landry
Of the first round prospects at the edge rusher position not named Bradley Chubb, Marcus Davenport has the highest ceiling. He also has the longest route to being the best player he can be. He had 17.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks in his final season at UTSA. The Lions could do worse than Marcus Davenport in the first round of the NFL draft.