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First-round pick Marcus Davenport has been enjoying his first organized team activities with the New Orleans Saints, especially when he has a chance to go fast.

Fortunately, coaches have encouraged him to move fast even while he's still learning the intricacies of his position.

"It got to a certain point where they're just like, 'We want you to play fast. It doesn't necessarily matter if you mess up; just go fast,'" Davenport said.



The Saints still have plenty of time to teach Davenport the minutiae of playing defensive end in the NFL, but coach Sean Payton and defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen said they've been encouraged with Davenport's progress.

"He's a quick learner, and he's picking it up," Nielsen said.

Davenport played in a two-point stance in college, so his top priority right now is learning to rush from a three-point stance with the Saints. At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, Davenport has the size and athleticism to make plays, but the Saints want his technique to be sound as quickly as possible.

During the OTAs session open to media last Thursday, Davenport spent most of practice working with the first-team defense because Cameron Jordan (foot) and Alex Okafor (Achilles) did not participate. Nielsen said it's important for Davenport to get as many reps as possible right now, regardless of where he is on the depth chart, but there's an obvious benefit for him to go against a top-tier left tackle like Terron Armstead.

"These guys are good, and I got a lot of work to improve on to earn my rep," Davenport said.

Nielsen, now in his second year with the Saints, didn't work out Davenport during the draft process. Brian Young, the team's pass rush specialist handled that task.

Still, Nielsen recalls being impressed with Davenport during the combine, and the coach watched several of Davenport's games at UTSA, noticing his length, explosiveness and size.

"He jumps off the tape," Nielsen said.

Nielsen also spoke to UTSA coach Frank Wilson after the draft about Davenport. The two coaches worked together at Ole Miss from 2005-07, and thus far, Nielsen said Davenport has looked exactly like the player Wilson described.

In Davenport's brief introduction with the Saints, Nielsen said the rookie has already made big strides as a player, but there's still plenty of teaching to do.

"He belongs physically; there's no doubt," Nielsen said. "He can really go. It's exciting and it's just another piece to what we do."

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AsylumGuido

The man is going to be an absolute stud! It's going to be like the old Chuck and Bill Show with Cam and Marcus. (Inside reference between my son and myself)

turbo_dog

I'm so encouraged by everything I've read and heard about this young man so far!

Championship!

K Major

Over the last two off seasons, Deuce M has been preaching that to become consistently effective against the run, you must be able to "set the edge". Marcus could be that guy who disrupts a lot. Sacks are always welcomed but a lot of teams took advantage of us against the run.

I'm expecting a Lattimore type impact from Davenport in 2018. He'll surprise many posters here.

SaintFanInATLHELL

Did anyone else catch the hidden nugget is all this?

Armstead on the field for OTAs. So he's healthy enough to practice. Fingers crossed man. Fingers crossed.

SFIAH

Thirty3

Interview is brief but he seems like a decent kid. Anxious to see how he progresses.

The Dude

OTA player of the year!!!

Euphoria

Its better to be fast than to be wrong.

I can't recall how many times I was told that.

spkb25

Certainly has all the intangibles. I do love how we are building the line...all starts there. This D is coming together. Last years team reminded me of '06 in the sense that we had a gret draft class and we might have overachieved a bit. After '06 we had two really down years mainly because of the JD signing. This defense is too good for that. We could be pushing for a SB very soon if not this season.

Beastmode

I would not be surprised at all if our D turns out to be the rage instead of the offense. You know how hard it is to get a shutdown corner? Damn near impossible. Add to that two good edge rushers, a strong DT. Rest of the bunch ain't half bad either. On paper it looks lethal.