Marcus Davenport, the edge rusher who has vaulted from relative anonymity just last fall to a big deal this spring, stepped back, cracked a big smile and then took a sip of his bottled water when asked if he had made a pre-draft visit to the Bears.
“That’s an interesting question,” said the 6-foot-6, 264-pound Davenport. “What do you think? Why the Bears specifically?”
Told that the reporter covers the Bears, Davenport smiled again.
“I met Coach (Brandon) Staley,” Davenport said. “I like him a lot.”
The Bears were one of 11 teams Davenport visited since the scouting combine, not a surprise considering he performed well at the Senior Bowl. Clubs needed to dig in and do more homework on Davenport because he competed at Texas-San Antonio, which didn’t launch its football program until 2011 and plays in Conference USA — far from a Power 5 program.
“We talked a lot,” Davenport said. “Really it was more personal. They were trying to get to know me as a person because coming from a school that doesn’t have much history, they didn’t come through as much. They weren’t keeping a record of me all the years.”
Davenport has great length and the frame to carry more weight if needed. He totaled 15 sacks the last two seasons but remains a little raw. There’s some projection involved, but he plays the position at which the Bears have the greatest need.
Davenport said he’s trying to take the events in stride leading up to the first round Thursday night at AT&T Stadium. He’s eager to find out where he will be playing and get started.
“I’ve got a chip on my shoulder still,” he said. “I’m still trying to prove things.”
Twitter @BradBiggs
Bears have picked 5 times at No. 8 — but they’ve yet to strike gold in the NFL draft “
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