Take Two: Is DE Marcus Davenport really a top 10 NFL Draft pick?

Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

MORE TAKE TWO: Is Georgia's 2018 class the best in the Rivals era?

CLASS OF '18 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | State | Position | JUCO

So much of the discussion at the Senior Bowl centered on the quarterbacks - mainly Wyoming’s Josh Allen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield - and rightfully so. But one player that cannot be overlooked as the NFL Draft inches closer is University of Texas as San Antonio (UTSA) defensive end Marcus Davenport, who had an excellent week in Mobile, Ala., and seems to now be shooting up draft boards.

There is talk that the 6-foot-7, 255-pound standout could be discussed among the top 10 overall picks and might push NC State’s Bradley Chubb for top billing at the defensive end position.

For those following closely, Davenport being mentioned so high is not a shock. But not everybody follows the NFL Draft so closely, especially in late January. If you don’t, remember Davenport’s name, because he could be going much higher than had been expected just a few weeks ago.

Is Davenport the steal in this draft? How did the former two-star blossom into such an exceptional prospect who is beloved now by numerous NFL teams?

“Can’t say I was totally surprised by his performance last week. I did have some reservations that he might struggle facing some of the best talent in the country, but overall I think the country was able to see what we have been seeing the last four years here in San Antonio. Now that the hard part is past him he can focus on the combine and senior day to cement himself as a sure-fire, first-round pick, the first in UTSA’s short seven-year history.

“What he is able to do standing at 6-foot-7 and 255 pounds is pretty remarkable. He was not the biggest kid coming out of Stevens High School, but the moment he got into the college weight room his body started to change to what it is now. Aside from the football side of things he is a really intelligent, intellectual person. NFL GMs will fall in love with him when they meet him in person.” – Cardenas

FOR MORE ON UTSA SPORTS, GO TO BIRDSUP.COM

“Marcus Davenport is very interesting, because he’s so big and he’s so raw. He had a half-sack in the game, he scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery, he had a couple good days of practice. The quarterbacks dominate the discussion. The quarterbacks being, of course, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield. But the one guy out of the Senior Bowl that we’re all going to be looking at as a possible top 10 pick that not many people know about is Davenport, because he just looks like an absolute freak.” – Farrell