Chicago Bears draft profile: Marcus Davenport, edge rusher
Strengths: A monster in the making
Honestly, just look at the tale of the tape on Marcus Davenport, and you’ll see right away why someone will take him in the first round of next month’s NFL Draft.
Height: 6-foot-6. Arm length: 33 and 5/8-inches. 264 pounds.
If Pace and Vic Fangio were to get together and draw up ideal measurements for an outside linebacker, Davenport probably would’ve been the prototype.
Also, while he doesn’t have Leonard Floyd‘s freaky athleticism for his height, Davenport’s speed and explosiveness at 260+ pounds are nothing to sneeze at.
On top of that, he likely can still pack on some size and strength to his frame without losing that athleticism.
Thankfully, his college opponents won’t have to deal with that anymore. He already spent his time running around and over them enough.
Much like Floyd, Davenport’s speed and length can induce nightmares for offensive tackles or any blocker, for that matter. A man of his size moving as fast and aggressively as he does off the edge is a monster problem.
In the run game, he can use his arms to keep people at bay, slowing up their path to the second level or to block on the edge. And when he gets control of someone with his hands, his size and athleticism make him difficult to shed.
And when he pins his ears back and comes for the passer, the special flashes are there. If he learns how to set people up and use his hands consistently, he could be destructive.
Plus, his Go-Go-Gadget-arms pose problems for quarterbacks even when he doesn’t get home, obscuring targets and knocking down passes.
He might have just been playing the likes of North Texas, but the makings of a dominant pass rusher are on the tape regardless. And in terms of just raw pass-rushing ability, he could have a shorter learning curve than Floyd if he arrived here.
And for being so lanky, he has decent change-of-direction and lateral movement skills that can be honed for coverage purposes.
Also, wow…just imagine that Floyd-Davenport combination.