New Orleans Saints: 5 burning questions in 2018

4. How big of an impact will Marcus Davenport have?

The Saints were aggressive in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, some may argue too aggressive.

New Orleans, which originally had the No. 27 pick in the draft, exchanged first-round picks with Green Bay and also sent over a 2018 fifth-round pick and a 2019 first-round pick to select defensive end Marcus Davenport.

Saints head coach Sean Payton recently explained that the team’s decision to draft Davenport. He noted that the edge rusher position needed to be upgraded and Davenport could help immediately.

The former University of Texas at San Antonio edge rusher dominated at the college level with 185 total tackles and 21.5 sacks in four years. Davenport has the size and athleticism to be very good at the next level. However, he is also considered raw and a project player.

Davenport got off to a quick start in OTA’s earlier this offseason and received high praise from Payton and the defensive line coach. However, he recently underwent thumb surgery to repair a ligament. According to Payton, the injury is nothing major and Davenport should be ready to go for the start of training camp.

After giving up a future first-round pick for Davenport, expectations are high for the rookie. Payton and company are hoping their aggressiveness and recent success at drafting defensive players will continue.

If Davenport struggles, the decision to essentially give up two-first round picks to select someone outside of the top-10 will be heavily be scrutinized.