Can Marcus Davenport's Past Failures Propel Him to Success in Detroit?
The defensive end has greatly disappointed throughout his NFL career, and no one knows that more than he does
“Marcus Davenport to steal money from Detroit Lions in 2024,” was the headline for the Daily Norseman’s news article about the defensive end signing with the Detroit Lions last week.
The Minnesota Vikings’ SB Nation blog pulled no punches. Christopher Gates, the website’s longest tenured writer and most respected voice, described Davenport as the “worst free agent signings in recent Minnesota Vikings history”.
This could be a bit of sour grapes, but while SB Nation blogs are not perfect, they are generally a good litmus test for how a fanbase feels (disclosure: I previously worked for SBNation.com and served as Deputy Editor for its Detroit Lions blog, Pride of Detroit). Davenport is, by all accounts, seen as a failure in Minnesota. Many fans of the New Orleans Saints, the team that traded up to draft him 14th overall in 2018, feel the same.
Davenport missed 13 games in 2023 after signing a 1 year, $13 million, deal with the Vikings the previous offseason. He was relatively ineffective in the four games he did play, notching two sacks and seven tackles. Not terrible numbers, but you would expect more production from a mercenary pass rusher brought in on a short contract.
Over his first five seasons in New Orleans, he was never much more than a rotational pass rusher, notching just 21.5 sacks and constantly missing games because of injury — not anywhere near what was expected of him when they spent big to draft him in the first round.
Now Davenport comes to Detroit on a 1 year, $10 million deal. He leaves two scorned fan bases behind him and brings the natural talent to still become the player many thought he would once become. He seemingly also has the willingness to prove he can still be that guy.
He told reporters during his introductory presser that Lions general manager Brad Holmes told him he still has that elite pass rusher from his college days in him. That even in the limited games he has played so far, he’s shown the physicality and effort needed to succeed.
“After hearing that and it just it helped me… feel like I made the right decision [in joining the Lions],” Davenport said.
Holmes is far from the first general manager to put his faith in Davenport to become the guy everyone expects him to be, and the edge rusher knows he’s let believers down in the past.
“It's always nice to have some belief. Especially when I haven't been able to prove everybody right,” he added.
Davenport was not a highly touted high school prospect coming out of John Paul Stevens in his native San Antonio, Texas. He initially featured as a wide receiver at the high school level, with his 6’5, 190 lb, being big enough to beat small defensive backs. After dropping a lot of passes on that side of the ball, he would move over to defensive end, where he would thrive. His high school head coach, Darryl Hemphill, said in 2018 that Davenport was dominant coming off of the edge, easily beating double and triple teams despite being undersized for the position.
A two star guy, just UNLV and UTSA offered him scholarships. He stayed home, choosing the Roadrunners.
“People wonder why he didn't go to a bigger school,” Hemphill said, saying many think it’s because of his grades. "Teachers loved him. He was a leader by example in the classroom. School wasn't the problem… his size was the problem."
UTSA was among the newest programs in FBS football when Davenport joined in 2014. By the Roadrunners’ opening day game against the Houston Cougars that year he was already up to 210 lbs. They earned a signature victory against the Cougars on national television to start that season, with Davenport’s speed and power helping him stand-out. He finished the game with a half-sack and two tackles.
Davenport would only grow from there — both literally and as a football player. By his senior year, the pass rusher was the best player in Conference USA and easily the greatest player in Roadrunners history. He had grown an inch, reaching 6’6, while beefing up to 260 lbs without losing a step.
He was a monster coming off of the edge. Davenport had the speed, power and length to barrel over CUSA offensive linemen. He didn’t quite have the necessary “tools” you’d want out of an elite pass rusher, but he didn’t need to against lowly competition. The pass rusher notched 8.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in his rookie season. Suddenly, his name was being bandied about in draft circles. He received an invite to the Senior Bowl — a game he dominated against other NFL-quality draft prospects.
It made him one of the most interesting names on draft day in 2018. On one hand, he had the physical talent necessary to succeed. An explosive athlete who jumped off of the film. On the other hand, he played against lower competition at UTSA, and won using his natural athletic talents rather than good technique or using a deep arsenal of pass rushing moves. In the NFL, everyone is big, and you’d need more than just that to win.
New Orleans surprised everyone when they traded up for Davenport at pick 14. They spent not just their 2018 pick, but their 2019 pick as well to move up, on the UTSA player, making him the first ever Roadrunner drafted in the first round.
Expectations on Davenport were higher than ever. The nickname “two-firsts” even caught-on. The lofty expectations placed on Davenport’s shoulders were inescapable.
“Sometimes I forget that I was 14th,” Davenport said in a recent interview with Lions media.
Something about Davenport is sobering. I’ve been in pressers at the college and NFL level. I’ve talked to players in the locker room. And I’ve watched hundreds of hours of press conferences and Q&A sessions in my years. It’s rare that a player like Davenport comes around. Someone who seems so at peace with himself and who he is. A player who speaks honestly about his own flaws as a player, and who knows he hasn’t lived up to expectations so far.
At his intro presser, he described his game as bringing “violence” and being “physical”. And that is clear on film, on any given snap he will absolutely barrel over the opposing offensive lineman. At any given time, he might be the strongest, fastest and meanest player on the field.
But Davenport went a step further, acknowledging that his violent and physical play style might still be lacking.
‘But that's something I want to change. I want to adapt. I want to learn,” he continued. “I was told by somebody recently that we got a lot of young guys that could learn from me. And my first thought was, shoot, we got a lot of guys I can learn from., I think it's just time to adapt. Get better.”
He also said he is trying to learn to become the player the team needs him to be, rather than someone just playing on an island.
“I know before at times I've gotten caught up on trying to beat a man. But there's way more important things and just beating an offensive tackle. There's affecting the game. There's strip sacks. There's disruptions,” he said.
“I just think it's about time to evolve.”
Davenport’s career could almost be described as a missed opportunity. He is one of the chosen few to be born with incredible athletic gifts. Combine that with his reportedly great work ethic, and there should not have been much to hold back Davenport.
The pinnacle of his career came in 2021, the fourth year of his rookie deal with the Saints. He notched nine sacks and 16 QB hits — both career highs — in 11 games. For a moment, the Marcus Davenport we all knew was in there at UTSA had come out. But his body would give out on him shortly afterwards.
Davenport received five offseason surgeries in 2022, three on his shoulder and two on his hand. He had a plate inserted into his left pinky to deal with an injury in college. It got infected, however, and he needed the finger partially amputated.
The “rebuilt” Davenport, as he said in the presser, was a shell of his former self in 2022. He played 15 games, a career high, but only registered a half-sack. Any hope that 2021 would be his breakout year was quickly dashed as mounting injuries beat up his body. Looking back on it now, Davenport still sees positives from his dismal 2022 campaign.
“That year, I felt like my process was right, [but] I didn't get the right results. But I really felt like I learned. 2022, I needed,” he said.
“We don't always get what we want and the way that we wanted,” he added, recalling a conversation with Holmes before he signed with the Lions.
Detroit is hoping that Davenport’s body can stay healthy, and that he can reach his 2021 heights once again. The Lions are in desperate need of a second pass rusher across from Aidan Hutchinson. The 2022 2nd overall pick has been a great player through two years of his career, but he can’t do it all on his own.
The former Viking fits the profile of what the Lions want in an edge rusher. Davenport is huge, he can kick inside, and plays with effort and “violence”. His run defense is not elite, but good enough.
But none of that matters if he isn’t on the field. Even if Davenport does reach his peak in Detroit this year, his pass rushing prowess means nothing if he’s constantly missing games. He is yet to have played a full NFL season, and played more than 13 games just once.
It’s hard to even judge Davenport’s career so far. He has obviously not lived up to his draft billing, but is that more the Saints’ fault? Is it a good idea to spend “two firsts” on a raw talent from UTSA. I mean, it’s UTSA? They didn’t play football yet six years before the draft. Does the average person even know what UTSA stands for?
He is both a victim and a beneficiary of that fateful draft pick in 2018. With it came expectations he would likely never meet. Without it, he would probably have made a lot less money and would no longer be in the league.
And on film, it’s clear he’s great. He passes the eye test with flying colors. The inconsistencies, though. The injuries. They prevent him from being the truly great player that he might have been.
“Those are steps I had to take,” he says of the adversity he faced. “With that behind me, I'm trying to use it to catapult me into greatness.”