2018 Raiders Draft Prospect
Name: Marcus Davenport
Position: DE
School: UT-San Antonio
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 256 pounds
Stats:
When watching Davenport’s film, you see his versatility with one underlying theme. From the moment of the snap, Davenport’s first goal is to win with violence. How he accomplishes this will vary, depending on play. First, his bull rush surprises most people. While he is only 256 pounds, Davenport uses outstanding leverage to sink below the lineman’s pads and drive him backwards.
If a tackle lines up tight, Davenport takes the opportunity to bend the corner and use his burst to dip around the block. During this move, Davenport take care to get the lineman’s arm pinned closed. As a result, the beaten tackle falls prey to s quick swim move.
The spin is something still under development. Davenport will break it out occasionally. However, he loses leverage and presents too much surface area to block. Coaches can fix this issue.
Run Stuffing
Often, Conference USA teams usually avoided running directly at Davenport. Nevertheless, he would shed the block and funnel down to make the stop in the backfield. At times, Davenport will show impatience by crashing inside on running plays, allowing the back to bounce to the outside. Again, completely correctable by strong coaching.
Strength
Although Davenport appears rather lanky, he possesses good core power and shoulder pop. In this case, NFL tackles could struggle with him on obvious passing downs. During his time in San Antonio, Davenport operated out of a 3-4, primarily as a rush linebacker. He rushed from a two-point stance. This gives him an automatic win over a tackle, slowly rising from his stance. In the NFL, Davenport can work as a 4-3 end. Also, he gives you the flexibility of a 3-4 outside rush ‘backer.
Tackling
If there is one downside to his game, it’s form tackling. Right now, Davenport succeeds with strong hands, bad intentions, and talent. He needs to harness that into his tackling. His eight sacks in 2017 could have been twelve, if he wrapped up the quarterback.
Scheme Fit
While the Raiders have a superstar defensive lineman in Khalil Mack, little exists on the other side. Denico Autry is a free agent. No one can predict Mario Edwards’ health. In Paul Guenther’s scheme, Davenport could gain 15 pounds, and fill the Michael Johnson role in the new defense.
Analysis
The Raiders need quality pass rushers to surround Khalil Mack. If Paul Guenther is serious about implementing the Bengals’ scheme in Oakland, he needs talent. The Raiders would not as Davenport to replace Khalil Mack, only to give offenses another headache. In return, the Oakland pass rush improves. Khalil Mack would not see so many double teams.
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