K Major

There is no longer any doubt about the talent Marcus Davenport possesses.

You’d have to be watching another channel not to see how impactful he is each week when he’s on the field. There is no longer a debate whether his talent warranted the investment of draft picks required to acquire him. When Davenport is healthy and on the field, he’s among the best defensive ends in the league.

Seriously.

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https://neworleans.football/how-marc...of-his-career/

K Major

Full story by Nick Underhill below :

There is no longer any doubt about the talent Marcus Davenport possesses.

You’d have to be watching another channel not to see how impactful he is each week when he’s on the field. There is no longer a debate whether his talent warranted the investment of draft picks required to acquire him. When Davenport is healthy and on the field, he’s among the best defensive ends in the league.

Seriously.

When factoring in run defense with his ability to rush the passer, few players are as strong in both facets of the game as Davenport, which, on a per snap basis, should comfortably place him among the top half of the NFL’s starting defensive ends.

The problem, of course, is that he doesn’t play nearly as much as his counterparts. It’s hard to make a comparison to someone like T.J. Watt when someone can simply point out that Watt has played 603 snaps to Davenport’s 324, no matter that Davenport only has 18 fewer pressures than Watt despite playing half of the snaps. Availability matters that much.

But those issues are better solved another day, like next season, when New Orleans is trying to figure out whether or not to extend Davenport beyond his fifth-year option and at what cost. Right now, even with the talent, that would be a hard decision. But if the defensive end figures out what he needs to do to avoid injuries this offseason and stay on the field, perhaps there are fewer concerns moving forward.

As far as the play on the field, Davenport looks like he’s figuring everything out. The defensive end has 6 ½ sacks, a career-high, 11 quarterback hits and 30 total pressures despite only appearing in eight games this season. The pass rusher says his success this year is the result of figuring out who he is as a player, understanding the things he does well, and doing what he can to accentuate those positive traits. But at the same time, don’t make the mistake of suggesting that Davenport is leaning heavily into the things he does well because he sees so much more for himself.

“You make it sound so finite,” Davenport said. “Who I am as a player is still developing and growing. That’s kind of all I’m saying. That’s with everybody. The game changes. You play differently. You do things slightly differently because you’re smarter and stronger. I just keep with the flow and change as I may.”

One of the things that Davenport has embraced is the power he possesses. The pass rusher has always leaned on that, but he’s become more comfortable with that element of his game and is using it to consistently dominate his opponents this year. His bullrush has always been a big part of his game, so it is no surprise he’s used it to generate two sacks and four quarterback hits this year.

But he’s also using his power more often to win inside. Watching the snaps where Davenport unleashes his talents to attack inside are some of his more breathtaking moments this season. Some of his wins have come by speed to run behind a stunt, but more often, he’s bullying people on these snaps and beating up offensive linemen on his way to the quarterback. Davenport has eight pressures on inside moves.

“He’s done a better job of being able to finish this year,” Allen said. “And so, you’re seeing a few more of the stats this year that maybe you hadn’t seen in the past, but he’s just continued the progression — a lot like we thought in this building. I know there’s maybe a lot of people outside the building that expected to see something different, but I’ve just seen a player that continues to get better year in and year out.”

The thing about Davenport is that he doesn’t just make himself better. He’s making everyone else around him play better, too. Just ask Kwon Alexander who followed Davenport’s path to a sack against the Jets, or Cam Jordan, who got after Tom Brady last week with some help from his counterpart.

The best players make life easier for everyone else, and Davenport is now doing that — not just for his teammates but also for himself now that he’s figuring out how to make the best use of his immense talent.

K Major

Currently @ 6.5 sacks, 20 solo & 1 FF with 3 games to go.

If he's healthy, I think MD could end the regular season with 10 sacks. Even without the sacks, the man is scary to defend.

The way I've seen him move grown men against their will has been impressive.

jeanpierre

That'd be a lot of cap money to commit to one position group and Davenport still has availability issues...

But I agree, when healthy, he's a top 10 Defensive End in this league...

Thirty3

I'd say he's worth another year to see if he can stay healthier

BakoSaint

It took JJ Watt 6 years in the NFL to become the player that Davenport has been from the start.

Boston Saint

Watt had more sacks in his second season than Davenport has in his career. Let’s not go overboard on the praise bako.

AsylumGuido

Interesting note on JJ Watt. He was drafted the same year as Cam Jordan (2011) and only has 1.5 more career sacks than Jordan.

lee909

He is a absolute monster, there is certainly no questions to be asked about that, inability to stay on the field is crippling though. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if a DE is taken in tbe first two rounds this year so they have a decent rotation and cover Turner health looking suspect too. Getting another DE and moving Cam inside certainly looks a option depending on how the draft/FA/cuts goes

BakoSaint

I am comparing Daveport to Season 7+ JJ Watt. The article tried to compare him to TJ Watt but I think the second half of JJ Watts career has a very distinct parallel. Being good IF he plays.