On its own, the Detroit Lions' decision to re-sign edge rusher Marcus Davenport wasn't awful. It just wasn't particularly needle-moving, and it begged for another free agent move to address the No. 1 weakness on the roster.
Instead, the Lions followed signing Davenport with releasing Za'Darius Smith. General manager Brad Holmes offered up the lame excuse that "we couldn't afford it", in obvious reference to the nearly $9 million in bonuses Smith was due early in the league year, and contract extensions that are coming down the road. The door seems open for Smith to come back though, and signing him after the draft would not impact the compensatory draft pick formula. So maybe it's just a matter of time.
If it was a one or the other choice between Davenport and Smith, the Lions made the wrong choice. With that in mind perhaps, head coach Dan Campbell is trying very hard to be optimistic about Davenport.
A draft pick should come in and take Marcus Davenport's starting job
If the season started on Sunday, and let's be thankful it doesn't in this context, Davenport would be the Lions' starting edge rusher opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
Ryan Smith of Pro Football Focus made a list of five players with the most to lose or gain in the 2025 draft, and Davenport is easily among them.
"Davenport is a former first-round pick of the Saints who enjoyed five productive years in New Orleans from 2018-2022, grading no lower than 71.8 in any of those seasons. He recorded a career-best 88.8 PFF overall grade in 2021, ranking eighth out of 110 qualifying edge defenders."
"In more recent years, Davenport has struggled to stay healthy and get on the field. He appeared in four games in 2023 with the Minnesota Vikings before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. Last season, he signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions but was lost for the year after a triceps injury in Week 3."
"The Lions re-signed Davenport last month in the hope he can return to form and complement Aidan Hutchinson on the edge. His path to playing time becomes a lot clearer if Detroit does not target an edge defender early in the draft; if the team does, he will have to fight harder to earn reps. The 28-year-old Davenport can hit free agency next year with more leverage if he secures enough playing time and can stay healthy in his second stint with the Lions."
PFF grades aside, seasons where he had 1.5 sacks and a half-a-sack with the Saints stretches the characterization of "five productive years" for Davenport there. And "has struggled to stay healthy" in "more recent years" is a massive understatement, with six games and 207 defensive snaps played over the last two seasons. Let's not sugarcoat reality with incomplete optimism.
The Lions may or may not take an edge rusher in the first round of the upcoming draft, but there's a chance they exit the seven-round proceedings with more than one. In any case Davenport should (will) be challenged by a rookie, and he could become a backup in short order in favor of a younger, better player.
