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The Atlanta Falcons haven’t tried to hide their draft preparation. In between all that coffee and crougnuts, they’re focusing a lot of their attention on getting better, bigger, and faster upfront, on both sides of the line. That includes replacing the recently retired Chris Chester with someone who can help keep franchise quarterback Matthew Thomas Ryan upright.
The Falcons recently hosted another offensive lineman. This time it’s Patriot League product Julie’n Davenport.
#Bucknell OL Julie'n Davenport continues to rise. Most recently, the #Falcons put him through a 2 hr workout: https://t.co/iGqpE7nYBU pic.twitter.com/BfJgUCpEjF
— Draft Analyst (@DraftAnalyst1) April 17, 2017
Davenport is a large man, weighing 320 pounds and standing 6’7. The words that plague Davenport are “project” and “raw.” Admittedly he’s a physical specimen - 36.5 inch arms! 84 inch wingspan! - that hasn’t seen anything like what an NFL defensive lineman will throw at him. That said, the fact that scouts flocked to Bucknell home games last season speaks volumes.
Davenport is described as smart, humble, and oddly flexible. Odds are he will go somewhere in the mid to late rounds. Ultimately Davenport projects as a swing tackle, not Chester’s replacement, with the potential to give the Falcons some depth behind entrenched starts Jake Matthews and Ryan Schraeder.
Your thoughts?