If you watched an Auburn football game last year, then you already know Derrick Brown was the star of the show. Brown looked like a man among boys. As the year progressed, I started to notice that the Marlon Davidson fella on the edge was not too shabby either. The problem is he’s a lot harder to project to the NFL level. Davidson could also be a hidden gem too.
Don’t sleep on Marlon Davidson! As I said earlier, it’s impossible not to watch Derrick Brown on every snap when watching Auburn. However, I think the real turning point for Davidson was at the Senior Bowl. Marlon Davidson didn’t participate the entire week but he went down there on the first day of practice and beat the snot out of everybody. The hamster wheel started to turn in my head that day. Oh, we have something here!
The hardest projection about Marlon Davidson is the fact that he really played out of position in college. Davidson was primarily a defensive end for Auburn at over 300 pounds. At the NFL level, he’s going to have to be a defensive tackle. That raises a lot of question marks. Can he hold up inside? What about stopping the run? There are a lot of questions that cannot be answered.
The good news is Davidson had a lot of production in the SEC. He reached All-SEC first team honors along with 12.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 48 tackles and two forced fumbles. Again, he got that production playing out of position. One could assume that Davidson’s upside is even greater than he showed.
Teams are going to have to really do their homework on this one. That’s where the predraft process comes into effect. A strong Senior Bowl and a 5.04 – 40 time (a good time for someone his size) are all things you want to see. Davidson shows off his power often and wins more times than not with hand fighting. Don’t get it twisted, Derrick Brown is fucking awesome. Don’t forget about Marlon Davidson either. He’s pretty good too.
