NFL Draft 2018 Countdown: The Longshot, Marcus Davenport

NFL Draft 2018 Countdown: The Longshot, Marcus Davenport
13:36, 25 Apr 2018

When the Chicago Bears’ defense Super Bowl shuffled their way to the 1985 NFL title, leaving a trail of battered quarterbacks in their wake, the premium on pass-rushing talent went through the roof.

Buddy Ryan’s ‘46’ defense was based on the premise that if you can knock the passer down before he throws the ball, you don’t have to worry too much about complex coverages on the back end.

That was also the era of fearsome NY Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. As Michael Lewis theorised in his book (later a film, starring Sandra Bullock) The Blind Side: Evolution Of A Game, stopping LT from wreaking havoc was the reason that left tackles – who protect most QBs’ back or blind side – became the most important players after the passer himself.

At the end of the 2007 season, it was the Giants that put the kibosh on New England’s quest for a historic undefeated season and a fourth title in seven years in Super Bowl XLII. Tom Coughlin’s side did that by sending waves of pass-rushers to unsettle the usually ice-cool Tom Brady.

So when the NFL Draft rolls around every April, players that can get after the quarterback are hot property. Bradley Chubb of North Carolina State and Harold Landry from Boston College are expected to be the first two off the board but one of the risers in the past few months is Marcus Davenport of the tiny University of Texas, San Antonio, which as recently as 2010, didn’t even have a football team.

An astonishing physical specimen – 6ft 6in, 265lbs, runs 40 yards in 4.58 seconds – Davenport had ambitions as a college basketball player while competing at hoops, football and athletics in high school. He moved from offense to defense in his junior year and his raw ability drew attention from a couple of Division 1 colleges but he chose to stay close to home at UTSA.

With the likes of lowly Florida International, North Texas and Texas, El Paso on the schedule as opposed to powerhouses Alabama, Clemson and Florida the question mark on Davenport is his level of competition.

‘Upside’, as draft pundits call it, goes a long way in the personnel departments of some NFL teams though and it only takes one side to fall in love with a player for him to hear his name called early.

“The message is, you’re a football player. You play football. It really doesn’t matter where you are. They’ll find you if the talent is there,” Davenport said. His upward-trending stock reminds some of 2016 NFL Defensive Player Of The Year Khalil Mack, who was plucked fifth overall from the lowly University of Buffalo in the 2014 Draft.

It’s possible that Chicago with the eighth pick could honour the legacy of the Monsters of the Midway by grabbing Davenport. General Manager Ryan Pace has taken risks in all of his drafts so far with raw talents like Kevin White (miss), Leonard Floyd (hit) and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (jury still out). But wherever the 21-year-old ends up, he’s keen to get to work.

“At one point the idea of just getting drafted was like, ‘Oh my gosh’. And then it was, ‘First round, oh my gosh. Top 20, oh my gosh, and then maybe top 10? Oh my God’,” Davenport said. “It's been a blessing so far, but I know it's not the end. It doesn't matter how you get in, it matters what you do when you get there.”

You can watch the Draft live at NFL.com or on Sky Sports Action from 12.30am on Friday 27 April.

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.