3 Vikings starters who could be benched with a bad training camp

Vikings starter who could be benched No. 1: Marcus Davenport

Marcus Davenport’s benching operates under the assumption that Danielle Hunter is not traded before the start of the season.

Davenport joined the Vikings on a cheap, prove-it deal this past March around the same time Za’Darius Smith was traded to the Browns. The former Saints pass-rusher isn’t a perfect plug-and-play for Smith, yet Sean Payton saw something in him to draft him 14th overall in 2018.

Let’s suppose Payton saw… wrong?

That Davenport wouldn’t become any franchise’s next best edge rusher, that his concerning injury history is habit and not an anomaly, and that he’s actually one of the biggest draft busts of the past decade.

An up-and-down camp could relegate Davenport to the sidelines giving backup pieces D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II, and Luiji Vilain the chance to earn the No. 2 pass-rushing spot alongside Hunter.

Davenport has only started 32 games in his five years in New Orleans and has yet to rack up double-digit sacks in a single season, and at this point, one may presume he’s not going to live up to his potential. He’ll fizzle out in preseason, lose out to Wonnum — the most consistent option, arguably — and fade into oblivion like all those failed first-round selections before him.

Sucks for the Vikings, but maybe that’ll teach Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to establish better relationships with his pass-rushers.