The Saints still are determining Marcus Davenport’s role early in the season after he missed three weeks of training camp with a groin injury. The first-round draft pick played 15 snaps in last week’s preseason game, making three tackles, one for loss, and a half sack.
But Davenport remains behind, Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said.
“I think that’s still to be determined,” Allen said of Davenport’s role, via Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune. “Certainly, we didn’t draft him just to be a situational pass rusher. We drafted this guy to be an every-down player, so that’s what we’re working to do, to try to get him ready to do that. We’ll continue to put him in those situations, and hopefully he’ll be ready to answer the challenge.”
Cameron Jordan will start at left defensive end, and Alex Okafor appears healthy enough to start at right defensive end. Trey Hendrickson also has earned playing time in the rotation, allowing Davenport time to get his feet underneath him.
Saints coach Sean Payton said Davenport will play a lot in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Rams after the rookie defensive end missed the first two exhibition games.
