The name Marcus Davenport isn’t quite as well known to Chicago Bears fans at this point. This shouldn’t be a surprise. He almost literally came out of nowhere in the past few months from the University of Texas-San Antonio. That school has only produced one draft pick in history up to this point. So it’s not exactly a hotbed of NFL talent. Still, people are having a hard time ignoring him.
In fact, he’s even drawn comparisons to former star pass rusher Aldon Smith. That certainly set off buzz alarms, given how Smith dominated under Vic Fangio in San Francisco. What people want to know is could Davenport be a target for the Bears at #8? They certainly need pass rush help. Leonard Floyd is their only proven player and he’s coming off a knee injury.
An interesting twist on it is what Davenport may think. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune had a chance to ask the prospect about his visit with the Bears. Davenport’s answer was more than a little curious and perhaps telling.
Marcus Davenport avoid too much detail on his Bears visit
When asked if he had made a pre-draft visit to the Bears, the edge rusher who has vaulted from relative anonymity just last fall to a big deal this spring, stepped back, cracked a big smile and then took a sip of his bottled water.
“That’s an interesting question,” the 6-foot-6, 264-pound Davenport said. “What do you think? Why the Bears specifically?”
Told that the reporter covers the Bears, Davenport smiled again.
“I met (outside linebackers coach Brandon) Staley,” Davenport said. “I like him a lot.”
It’s possible that Davenport was just having fun at the expense of Bears media. Then again, one needs to remember the context. Last year it came out that GM Ryan Pace specifically told Mitch Trubisky to avoid revealing any of their meetings together. They valued complete secrecy so another team might not try to jump them to secure their guy. Trubisky complied and the entire NFL community was stunned when the pick was made.
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Davenport fits the profile of a type of player Pace would covet. He’s big, strong, highly athletic and clean off the field. He carries a chip on his should too, coming from a smaller program. The Smith comparison certainly doesn’t hurt either. It’s not hard to think that his murky answer to the question may have been encouraged by the Bears to avoid national attention.
