Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA

After losing Super Bowl XLIX in heartbreaking fashion, the Seattle Seahawks came away a different team. Three years ago, what was once a young and physical football team, spurred on by an energetic coach and an electric fan base, is now an old, injury-ravaged team that has as many problems on the field as off.

The Seattle front office has much work to do if they hope to return a championship level of football.

Team Needs (in order of importance)

1. Defensive Line

The ‘Hawks have lost a number key pass rushers in the years following their Super Bowl XLIX win. This offseason alone, DE Michael Bennett was traded gifted to the WORLD CHAMPION Philadelphia Eagles, DE Sheldon Richardson left for Minnesota, and Seattle could also stand to lose DE Cliff Avril because of a career-ending neck injury. DT’s Nazair Jones, Malik McDowell, and Jarran Reed form an uninspiring trio on the interior d-line.

2. Defensive Back

After cutting CB Richard Sherman, the Seahawks have no real viable options on the outside, other than second year cornerback Shaquill Griffin. Also, their is plenty of uncertainty at the safety position that lacks any depth with SS Kam Chancellor’s career in limbo after a neck injury and FS Earl Thomas being the subject of trade talks.

The once vaunted “Legion of Boom” now looks very pedestrian.

3. Offensive Line

One of Seattle’s main goals this draft season should be to shore up an offensive line that has been shaky the past couple of seasons. The Seahawks cannot afford to have their star QB running around like a chicken with its head cut off, even if Russell Wilson’s scrambles frequent the highlight reels.

While the Seahawks have solid veteran players in LT Duane Brown, C Justin Britt, and RG DJ Fluker, the rest of the line leaves a lot to be desired. Seattle’s second round selection last year, OL Ethan Pocic, graded out at 35.7 (76th amongst guards), per PFF.

The Pick

After Roger Goodell is obligatorily booed for the 18th time, he will announce that the Seattle Seahawks select defensive end Marcus Davenport out of the University of Texas-San Antonio.

Measurables

Marcus Davenport possesses a prototypical frame for the modern defensive end position. He stands at 6’6” and 264 lbs, with room to grow.

Davenport showed off his athleticism at the combine, posting some strong numbers. This athletic ability could be seen on the field as well (Stay tuned for gifs galore).

Strengths & Weaknesses

Marcus Davenport improved each year at UTSA, closing out his college career with a fantastic senior campaign. Playing as a stand-up edge-defender, he compiled 8.5 sacks, 55 tackles (17.5 for loss), and 3 forced fumbles (1 recovered for TD).

Davenport proved to be a very effective run-defender, holding his ground at the point of attack to set the edge and showed good ability to shed blocks when the running back commits. Had solid gap discipline, often preventing backs from reversing runs. When the defense did lose contain however, Davenport was able to use his speed to chase down runners.

In the play above, Davenport shows good patience and quickness on the read option look, making the play on the running back.

Marcus Davenport is an absolutely relentless pass rusher. He possesses a very good motor, not stopping his pursuit of the QB until they are taken down. Davenport’s current go-to move is the good old-fashioned bull rush. Opposing lineman are frequently jolted off balance by Davenport’s violent power (lower-half power demonstrated at the combine with a 124” broad jump) and subsequently driven back into the quarterback or they end up on the turf. Any tight-ends or running-backs that try to block him are usually flattened. It also helps the Marcus gets good leverage on these moves, keeping his pad level low.

It’s hard to tell here if this was a designed QB draw or if Davenport’s rush forced the QB to scramble; either way you can see Davenport’s great strength when the tackle is driven backwards.

Since Davenport is unblocked here, we can see the type of closing speed he has. Also good to note that he has the ability to clothesline a quarterback to the ground.

Great hand/arm usage to get the tackle off of him, and then a rip with his inside hand. Displays some good technique in this set for the sack.

Davenport was also able to flash some interior pass-rushing prowess as UTSA utilised tackle-end (twist) stunts occasionally.

With that being said, Davenport’s physical gifts mask how raw of a player he is. At the Senior Bowl, his rawness showed up as he was facing better competition than he had in the Conference-USA. He progressively got better as the week got on, adjusting to a higher level of play as well as playing with his hand in the dirt.

Davenport needs to refine the nuances of being a pass-rusher, starting of with expanding his arsenal of pass-rushing moves. This will help to maintain the effectiveness of his oft-used bull rush, making him more unpredictable. Development of a pass-rush plan will also help Davenport avoid the instances where it just seems like he’s rushing into a group of people with no purpose, almost as if he’s lost. These actions also show that Davenport could stand to improve his football IQ; he is not quite an instinctual player. Davenport must also continue to use the great length that he has to keep blockers off of him. Davenport got swallowed up from time-to-time from throwing his body into the oncoming blockers instead of punching with his hands.

Player Comparisons

Danielle Hunter (per Lance Zierlein, nfl.com)/Ezekiel Ansah (per Mike Mayock, nfl.com): Davenport shares similarities with Hunter and Ansah as they were all uber-athletic, raw, high-upside football players coming out of college. In my opinion, Davenport is a better prospect than both Hunter and Ansah because he had much greater production (Hunter played in the SEC, Ansah played in the Independent. So they faced better competition, but Davenport had dominant stretches in the C-USA) and Davenport looks like a much more explosive and powerful player on film.

Jadeveon Clowney: Clowney’s name has popped up every so often when talking about Marcus Davenport. They both share similar physical traits, but Clowney was just a bit better than Davenport in most other aspects of the game in college. Although, there is no reason why Davenport cannot develop into a player of Clowney’s caliber.

Why is Marcus Davenport the best selection?

Davenport was my selection for the Seahawks at #18 as he was the best remaining defensive player on the board. I also considered picking EDGE Harold Landry and CB Joshua Jackson here, but ultimately decided that Davenport was a better scheme fit than Landry, and that defensive line was a more valuable position than corner. He offers the Seahawks a much needed EDGE defender who will be capable of contributing in the run game immediately. Pete Carroll will be able to groom Davenport in the mold of a Michael Bennett-type player, someone who play both the run and pass on early downs, and then kick inside on passing downs.

2018 BGN Community Mock Draft Order

1) Browns (GMinTraining): Saquon Barkley

2) Giants (ablesser88): Quenton Nelson

3) Jets (20Safety_Hazards): Sam Darnold

4) Browns (MJ1893): Josh Rosen

5) Broncos (drc242): Baker Mayfield

6) Colts (I Need a Username): Bradley Chubb

7) Buccaneers (dunc123): Minkah Fitzpatrick

8) Bears (NVEagleShark): Tremaine Edmunds

9) 49ers (Doug Pederson’s Pair of Balls): Calvin Ridley

10) Raiders (Milehighbirds): Derwin James

11) Dolphins (danishdynamite_): Roquan Smith

12) Bills (LAOJoe): Denzel Ward

13) Washington (Eagle1987): Vita Vea

14) Packers (89Tremaine): Mike Hughes

15) Cardinals (RimoDawkins): Josh Allen

16) Ravens (PhillyEagles2011): Mike McGlinchey

17) Chargers (LBCeaglesFan!): Da’Ron Payne

18) Seahawks (KEZHOG): Marcus Davenport

19) Cowboys (Brawnybalboa):

20) Lions (dshelton5):

21) Bengals (Palaniappan K M):

22) Bills (BeamerWentzorBentley):

23) Patriots (jy1187):

24) Panthers (dceagles):

25) Titans (ei78):

26) Falcons (SakPrescott):

27) Saints (MidMajorMatt):

28) Steelers (SummersInVA):

29) Jaguars (RecarTabmok):

30) Vikings (AnthroEagle):

31) Patriots (PhilaWolverine):

32) Eagles (JALupowitz):

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Now it’s time for you to vote for who YOU think the Seahawks should pick in the 2018 BGN Consensus Mock Draft.

1) Browns: Saquon Barkley

2) Giants: Sam Darnold

3) Jets: Josh Rosen

4) Browns: Josh Allen

5) Broncos: Baker Mayfield

6) Colts: Bradley Chubb

7) Buccaneers: Minkah Fitzpatrick

8) Bears: Quenton Nelson

9) 49ers: Tremaine Edmunds

10) Raiders: Derwin James

11) Dolphins: Roquan Smith

12) Bills: Lamar Jackson

13) Washington: Vita Vea

14) Packers: Denzel Ward

15) Cardinals: Mason Rudolph

16) Ravens: Mike McGlinchey

17) Chargers: Da’Ron Payne

18) Seahawks: