Saints DE Marcus Davenport suggested as possible trade target before NFL deadline

Bleacher Report suggested New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport as a potential trade target at the 2020 NFL trade deadline.

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The New Orleans Saints are usually active in the trading market, but most of their business is held during the annual NFL Draft. But they rarely execute deals near the league trade deadline; most notably acquiring cornerback Eli Apple in 2018.

But it’s possible they could be sellers rather than buyers this year. It isn’t likely considering how important it is to keep all hands on deck and rally towards a Super Bowl push in the final days of Drew Brees’ career, but it’s possible. One possible name who could be moved comes from Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report, who suggested third-year defensive end Marcus Davenport (no relation). Here’s some of what he wrote to flesh out the idea:

“There’s no way the team would consider trading impending free-agent edge-rusher Trey Hendrickson, who has been the team’s best pass-rusher this year. Given how badly the team is playing the pass, general manager Mickey Loomis might want to fire half the cornerback room, but the Saints can’t afford to do so. However, maybe they should consider trading another edge-rusher.

The trade up in 2018 that brought Marcus Davenport to New Orleans was a mistake, plain and simple. He has missed time in all three seasons he’s been in the pros and has just 10.5 sacks in 27 career games. That said, given Davenport’s youth (24) and athleticism, there will be teams willing to gamble that he’s just a late-bloomer.”

Trading Davenport at this point in the season doesn’t make any sense. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill went in depth on how important Davenport’s return was to the team’s pass rush success against the Los Angeles Chargers last week, and while we need a larger sample size before making any forecasts it’s clear that he’s someone teams expect to plan for.

And the Saints didn’t wait patiently for Davenport to recover from his training camp elbow injury (and subsequent toe issue in a midweek practice session) just to trade him once he’s back in action and helping them win football games. The better move is to let him finish out the year and reevaluate things in the spring before making a decision on his fifth-year contract option.

However, there are some names on Bleacher Report’s survey from around the league that could interest the Saints as buyers. Carolina Panthers receiver Curtis Samuel, Dallas Cowboys wideout Michael Gallup, Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons, and Chargers defensive back Desmond King could all juice up thinner areas of the depth chart. New Orleans went all-in on Jadeveon Clowney as a potential upgrade in free agency, so it shouldn’t shock anyone if they try and make a bold move at the Nov. 3 trade deadline.

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Sean Payton hopeful Marcus Davenport can suit up for Week 4 at Lions

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton expressed hope that starting defensive end Marcus Davenport will be available against the Detroit Lions

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There was some hope that New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport would make his 2020 debut on Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers after missing the first two games with an elbow injury, but the Saints remained patient with him. Davenport practiced just twice — on a limited basis — last week, and watched the Saints and Packers play in a tracksuit.

With star defensive end Cameron Jordan being outplayed by Davenport’s backup, Trey Hendrickson, the Saints could use all the help they can get. And Saints coach Sean Payton is optimistic they’ll get a boost soon.

“Hopefully we have Davenport back this week,” Payton said in his Monday morning conference call.

Davenport’s return would be useful. The Saints have only made seven sacks on the year so far, tied with a crowd of teams for the 11th-most in the NFL. But they haven’t taken over a possession with their pass rush except for a Las Vegas Raiders drive in the first quarter, when they sacked Derek Carr twice on subsequent downs. Las Vegas kept him clean for the next 47 minutes of regulation.

New Orleans brought down Aaron Rodgers just once in Week 3, when he failed to adjust the protection to a blitzing Demario Davis. It simply isn’t good enough production for a defense stocked with so much talent.

So we’ll be hoping right along with Payton, and keeping an eye on this week’s injury report. If Davenport can turn in three full days of practice and get back in the lineup, he could make a huge difference. There’s no doubting his talent, and his coaches raved on the progress he made as a technician in training camp; his only real flaw at this stage in his career is availability.

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Sean Payton comments on Marcus Davenport’s elbow injury

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton commented on Marcus Davenport’s elbow injury, saying that he doesn’t expect the DE to be sidelined long

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The NFL draft is hyped up as the event when teams seek to get better by adding fresh talent from the college ranks, so it was frustrating to see the New Orleans Saints prepare for their Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without the most valuable players they’ve picked in recent years.

In a Monday appearance on WWL Radio, Saints coach Sean Payton preached patience with one of those players: third-year defensive end Marcus Davenport, ruled out with an elbow injury suffered late in training camp.

“Look it’s gonna be soon here Davenport’s back,” Payton said. “He’s got an injury that if you try to hustle him back too early, [he would] be out for a lot longer. We’re gonna be making the right decisions regarding his health.”

If there’s a silver lining for Saints fans here, it’s that Davenport didn’t start the season on injured reserve. NFL teams are allowed to sideline players on I.R. for three weeks at a time this year, so if this were a long-term problem for Davenport then he would have been designated to the reserve list.

It might suggest the Saints expect him to be back in a week or two, which is supported by Payton’s comments. We’ll learn more when the Saints publish their first injury report on Thursday.

Fortunately, the Saints backups did a great job filling in for Davenport across from starting end Cameron Jordan. Jordan saw his usual majority of snaps (60, 85.7% of the defense’s total) with Trey Hendrickson (39 snaps) and Carl Granderson (23) rotating in. Versatile practice squad call-up Margus Hunt (21 snaps) also got some looks out on the edge. Both Hendrickson and Granderson got onto the stats sheet with sacks, and Hendrickson was credited with a pair of other quarterback hits.

It was enough to raise the hackles of Bucs coach Bruce Arians. After reviewing the game tape on Monday, he roasted left tackle Donovan Smith, who was charged with blocking the Hendrickson-Granderson combo in Davenport’s absence.

“I was very disappointed in his play,” Arians said. “I think every now and then he reverts back to some techniques that are not very good [and] he got beat. He had, probably, the easiest guy to block up there and he did a poor job. It was one of his poorer games and [I] expect for him to bounce back this week, yes.”

The Saints will visit Tampa Bay for a rematch on Nov. 8, under the bright lights on Sunday Night Football. And Smith will probably be drawing a matchup with Davenport, who beat him for a pair of sacks in their meeting last year. The Saints pass rush got off to a great start against the Buccaneers, and it looks like they’re set up to keep that momentum going.

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6 Saints players who need to step up vs. Vikings

New Orleans Saints players like Janoris Jenkins and Tre’Quan Smith must step up against Kirk Cousins and the wild-card Minnesota Vikings.

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The New Orleans Saints are set to host the Minnesota Vikings at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday in the wild-card round. Despite the Saints being a 7.5-point home favorite, they will need several key players to step up and have their best game of the season in order to beat the Kirk Cousins-led Vikings. Some names are obvious, while others may be flying a little more under the radar. It’ll take a team effort to advance deeper into the playoffs.

Here are the six Saints players that will need to step up their game on Sunday:

Janoris Jenkins, cornerback

New Orleans acquired Jenkins in Week 15, and he saw his first action as a Saint during the Week 16 game against the Tennessee Titans when he played 44% of defensive snaps. In Week 17, Jenkins broke out and recorded five tackles and a game-sealing interception against the Carolina Panthers while playing 100% of snaps. With Eli Apple expected to miss more time with an ankle injury, “Jackrabbit” must step up and help solidify the secondary against talented Vikings receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen.

Tre’Quan Smith, wide receiver

A usually hot-and-cold Smith will need to find that extra gear on Sunday, and play to a similar level of production to that of his Week 17 performance. Against the Panthers, Smith caught all five of his targets to gain 56 yards and a touchdown catch at the goal-line. With no receiver yet emerged as a true, consistent threat opposite of Michael Thomas, Smith must prove he can be a difference-maker when it counts the most.

Alvin Kamara, running back

After missing significant time with injury earlier in the season, the running back returned looking like a shell of himself. Over the last two weeks of the season, Kamara has once again began to show why he can be one of the best backs in the league. With Super Bowl aspirations on the line, Kamara will need to return to his 2017-2018 form in order for New Orleans to make a deep playoff run.

A.J. Klein, linebacker

Klein has been a consistent force, along with Demario Davis, in the linebacker corps this season. In Week 17, he recorded his first interception of the season to go along with five tackles. With some depth issues at the position for New Orleans, and a strong rushing attack in Minnesota with Dalvin Cook, Klein will have to step up. A good performance from Klein could be all the difference.

Trey Hendrickson, defensive end

With the defensive line banged up, Hendrickson has seen increased snap counts in the later part of the season starting in Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons. Hendrickson will need to play one of his best games in order to beat a very good Vikings offensive line and get pressure on Cousins. Cam Jordan cannot do everything on his own, and Hendrickson will be relied upon to get the job done on Sunday.

Michael Thomas, wide receiver

This one may seem odd. How can someone include Thomas in a list of players that need to step up? Thomas will need to get back on track after a lackluster Week 17 where he only caught four of his nine targets. The entire New Orleans offense runs through Thomas, and now that the playoffs arrived, Thomas will need to play his best brand of football for the Saints to make reality out of their Super Bowl dreams.

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