The NFL Draft is an exciting time for every franchise and its fans and this year’s event will be no different for supporters of the Detroit Lions as they look to add another piece to the championship puzzle they are building in Motor City.
While these are certainly memorable moments for the collegiate standouts who have an opportunity to see one of their dreams come to fruition, the draft can raise a number of questions concerning what these selections mean for veteran players already on the roster and their respective futures with the organization.
This will be no different with the Lions later this month as new faces will bring on new position battles with one potential duel for playing time standing out above the rest.
Marcus Davenport’s Job is in Jeopardy Heading Into the NFL Draft
The Lions have one of the best edge rushers in the game today on their roster in former Michigan Wolverines star Aidan Hutchinson. With their first-round pick coming at No. 28 overall, there has been plenty of speculation that the Lions could target another edge rusher to line up across from Hutchinson to make things even more difficult on opposing defensive lines.
The latest speculation that this could be the direction Detroit’s front office elects to go in comes from ESPN’s NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., as he explained in a three-round mock draft released on Tuesday why University of Georgia standout Mykel Williams could be the man for the job, which would put him in direct competition with Davenport for that spot on the defensive line.
“We talk a lot about the Lions’ pass-rush hole opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Let’s fix it,” Kiper wrote. “Williams can beat blockers with his explosiveness, and he has even more upside for new Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard to unlock.”
Williams was a three-year contributor at Georgia and helped the Bulldogs have one of the most impressive defenses that college football had to offer. As a pass rusher, Williams proved year in and year out that he was more than capable of getting after the quarterback as he recorded 14 sacks over the course of his three years in Athens.
Should Williams, or any other edge rusher, be the direction that the Lions elect to go with their first-round draft pick, Davenport will have to prove himself once again if he hopes to be a starter up front for Detroit as injuries have been a major issue for him in recent years. Over the past two seasons, Davenport has only been able to make six total appearances, four of which came as a member of the starting lineup.
Availability is said to be the best ability and Davenport simply hasn’t shown he is capable of being depended on to suit up each and every weekend due to a variety of injuries, the most recent of which being a torn triceps.
For all of these reasons, Lions fans can expect for Davenport to have a close eye on what Detroit elects to do with the No. 28 overall pick in the draft once the first-round begins on April 24.