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The New Orleans Saints were one of the active teams in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft that saw them trade up to the 14th overall spot address a need along the defensive line with former UTSA defensive end Marcus Davenport. It has put the team in place another promising talent in their front seven defensively.
According to Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network, the Saints have agreed to a four-year deal with Davenport on Thursday night ahead of rookie minicamp.
Another first-rounder in the books: The #Saints agreed to terms on a 4-year contract with No. 14 pick #UTSA DE Marcus Davenport, source said. They traded all the way up to get him, obviously a huge part of 2018.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 11, 2018
The Saints now have in place their prized player from this year's draft class that moved up from the 27th overall spot to the 14th overall selection by giving up that pick along with 2018 fifth-round pick and a 2019 first-round pick. During his four-year collegiate career, Davenport had established himself as one of the defensive talents in the nation that saw him rack up 185 total tackles, 37.5 tackles for loss and 21.5 sacks.
New Orleans is hoping his explosive nature as a pass rusher while help brings a more legitimate pressure on opposing quarterbacks in hopes he can help form a formidable duo alongside Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Jordan. If he can provide that presence, it could help make their promising young secondary that much more effective in being one of the top units in the league.
It may have been a bit of a risk given the haul that gave up, but it shows that the team more than confident that he can quickly become a star in the league that they build around on the defensive side the ball for the next several seasons. The opportunities will be there for him to prove he can a major factor on the defensive line to help the Saints build off their trip to the divisional round of the playoffs last year.
