The New Orleans Saints make huge move for Marcus Davenport
By Jon Dove
The New Orleans Saints made a very aggressive move up the draft in order to land Marcus Davenport.
As soon as this trade was announced it was thought that this would be a great landing spot for Lamar Jackson. The New Orleans Saints shocked everyone by grabbing Marcus Davenport to work on the edge of their defense.
Davenport is a very raw prospect, but has the build and athleticism to develop into a top-notch pass rusher.
This isn’t a terrible pick on the service. The Saints need help along the defensive line and especially for someone capable of getting after the quarterback. However, New Orleans shouldn’t expect Davenport to make a huge impact year one.
He is someone who will need to adjust to a significant change in the level of competition. Davenport also needs to develop a better game plan and more pass rush moves.
This move will likely get some negative marks based on what the Saints gave up in the trade. Surrendering a future 1st round pick to select a raw and high risk prospect is questionable. There is a good chance that Davenport never reaches his full potential.
New Orleans did have a little extra wiggle room based on the success of last year’s draft. The Saints landed 4 immediate starters in 2017 which makes giving up some future draft assets easier to swallow.
It’s obvious that the Saints believe they are in a Super Bowl window. This is another reason it makes some sense to be aggressive and filling a major need on the roster.