Top Defensive Linemen in NFL Draft: Marlon Davidson

Auburn’s Marlon Davidson, who faces a potential position change, ranks No. 5 among this year’s defensive line prospects.

Auburn’s Marlon Davidson, who faces a potential position change, ranks No. 5 among this year’s defensive line prospects.

Marlon Davidson has fulfilled a promise he made to his mom.

“I was in the seventh grade,” he explained at the Scouting Combine. “I made a promise that I was going to do it big. I told her no matter what I’m going to take care of the family. Shoot, that’s what I’m doing now. I’m putting the family on my back, and I’m going to continue to do what I do best, and that’s ball.”

Davidson made it big. He started 51 games at Auburn. As a senior, he was a team captain and second-team All-American. All of the hard work put him in position to be a potential first-round pick in this year’s draft. Unfortunately, his mom, Cynthia Carter, died in February 2015 at the too-young age of 47. She had been dealing with pain in her leg, believed to be tendonitis. Later, tests showed it was a blood clot. The clot reached her heart before she reached the hospital.

“My mother was my rock,” Davidson said. “I was the baby boy of the house, so everything she did, I did. Shoot, I was like a tick on her and stuff, just walking around with her everywhere she’d go. Just the love that I have for her, and the love that she had for me and everything she instilled in me—to this moment, I feel grateful for it. I’m going to continue to show her and continue to protect the brand, protect my brand, which is my last name. I’m going to continue to show people I am Marlon Davidson, and I’m the best at what I do.”

What Davidson did best was create havoc. At about 300 pounds, he piled up 7.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for losses in 2019, numbers that rank second among our top 25 defensive line prospects. His pressure rate of 14 percent is tied for first. However, that comes with the asterisk of playing almost two-thirds of his snaps on the edge. For most teams, he’ll be asked to move inside.

What we like

At 6-foot-3 3/8 and 303 pounds, Davidson ran his 40 in 5.04 seconds. That’s good athleticism for such a big man. “I think I’m the best athlete in the world; I can’t lie about that. Just having that in my toolkit and being able to pull that out any time I wanted, that’s special.” His “dog” mentality should pay dividends. “I’m not one of the type of guys who’s going to sit there and get beat all game. The offense is winning one or two no matter what, but I’m going to come out and whoop their tail, and then I’m going to come back and whoop it again, then I come back and I’m going to do it again. At that point, they’re like, ‘Man, I got to go against Marlon Davidson every play.’”

What we don’t like

Projection. Davidson isn’t athletic enough to win play after play on the edge; while his 40 was good, his 10-yard time of 1.78 was only so-so. But it’s a whole new world on the inside. There’s no reason to believe he can’t make the transition, but making that transition won’t be easy with the cancelation of the offseason practices. 

Bill Huber’s Defensive Line Profiles

No. 1: Auburn’s Derrick Brown

No. 2: South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw

No. 3: TCU’s Ross Blacklock

No. 4: Missouri’s Jordan Elliott

No. 5: Auburn’s Marlon Davidson

No. 6: Texas A&M’s Justin Madubuike

No. 7: Alabama’s Raekwon Davis

No. 8: Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore

Nos. 9-20: Best of the Rest