Mel Kiper’s first mock draft has the Green Bay Packers taking University of Texas-San Antonio defensive end Marcus Davenport.
While Boston College’s Harold Landry has been a popular selection for the Packers, Davenport is an intriguing prospect who has slowly gained momentum going into this year’s draft.
Kiper cites the aging of Clay Matthews and inconsistent play from Nick Perry as reasons for the Packers to target Davenport.
“(Davenport is) one of the best pure pass-rushers in this class, and we’ll get to see him against better competition at the Senior Bowl,” Kiper wrote in his mock draft Thursday.
Davenport, at close to 6-7 and weighing 255 pounds, can wreak havoc as a rusher.
“He’s still fairly raw, but Davenport’s ceiling is limitless,” Luke Easterling of Draft Wire wrote. “He can play with his hand in the dirt or standing up, and put up big numbers for the Roadrunners this season (17.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks). With NFL-level coaching, he could easily become an impact player at the next level sooner than later.”