Through his first few months with the New Orleans Saints, rookie defensive lineman Marcus Davenport has struggled tremendously to find his footing at the next level.
This has fluctuated his role on the field to the point where there is much uncertainty as to where he will fit in the fold for the upcoming season. According to Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has voiced that the team is still trying to assess the situation on where he fits best on the defensive front.
“I think that's still to be determined,” Allen said. “Certainly, we didn't draft him just to be a situational pass rusher. We drafted this guy to be an every-down player, so that's what we're working to do, to try to get him ready to do that. We'll continue to put him in those situations, and hopefully he'll be ready to answer the challenge.”
Davenport has shown flashes of potential and raw ability, but he has had much difficulty fitting in like he had hoped he could to start his career. This has pushed him to a spot where the coaching staff is trying to figure out where he could be most effective on the field.
There does appear to be some clarity, though, that could see him first step in as a situational pass rusher that could make the task easy for him to get his career started. Davenport has shown the ability to be a factor against the pass, which is one of the major reasons why the Saints traded up in the first round to grab him.
It hasn't been the type of the start in the offseason that New Orleans was hoping to see out of the 21-year-old, but things could quickly shift to the direction once he has a defined role in place.
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