HEADLINES

Julien Davenport

Colts Host OL Julie’n Davenport

March 18th, 2021 at 5:18pm CST by Ben Levine

The Colts are apparently eyeing some offensive line help. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that free agent offensive tackle Julie’n Davenport visited the team today.

The 2017 fourth-round pick out of Bucknell spent the first two seasons of his career with the Texans, including a 2018 campaign where he started 15 games. He was traded to Miami as part of the Laremy Tunsil trade in 2019, and he proceeded to spent the next two years with the organization. After starting eight games for the Dolphins in 2019, Davenport only appeared in five percent of his team’s offensive snaps in 2020 (although he did see time in all 16 games).

It would make sense for the Colts to be sniffing around at some offensive line help. The team has a hole at left tackle following Anthony Castonzo‘s decision to retire.

Dolphins Place LT Austin Jackson On IR

October 9th, 2020 at 2:18pm CST by Rory Parks

The Dolphins have placed left tackle Austin Jackson on IR due to a foot injury he suffered during Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports (via Twitter). Although the rookie LT would be eligible to return after three weeks under the modified rules for 2020, Barry Jackson says in a full-length piece that head coach Brian Flores was non-committal when asked if Austin Jackson would be back this season.

Indeed, Flores said the team is looking for a “long-term replacement” for Austin Jackson, so it sounds as if the USC product very well may miss the rest of the year. Though Miami has several options, Barry Jackson suggests that Julie’n Davenport — who filled in for Austin Jackson during the Seattle game and played well — might have the first crack at the LT job.

Austin Jackson was the second of three first-round choices that the Dolphins had in this year’s draft. He was thrown into the fire right away, and he acquitted himself reasonably well. He had not allowed a sack this season, and he recently earned praise from his position coach.

“Austin has had a great start to this season,” offensive line coach Steve Marshall said earlier this week. “He’s learning every time he’s going out there. I’m very excited for his future. He can be a heck of a pro offensive left tackle.”

Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics considered Austin Jackson to be a below-average performer in terms of both run-blocking and pass-blocking, but he has certainly shown enough flashes to justify Marshall’s enthusiasm. One wonders if Austin Jackson’s absence will have any bearing on Flores’ decision as to when to insert rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa into the starting lineup.

To take Austin Jackson’s place on the roster, the Dolphins have promoted rookie running back Salvon Ahmed from the practice squad. As Barry Jackson observes (via Twitter), the team has liked what it has seen from the UDFA, though he will be joining a crowded RB depth chart.

Dolphins Activate T Julien Davenport

November 16th, 2019 at 2:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins’ left tackle to start the season, Julien Davenport will have a chance to make another impression on his second NFL team. Miami activated the third-year blocker from IR, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets.

Davenport will return to the Dolphins’ active roster, taking offensive lineman Andrew Donnal‘s spot.

Veteran J’Marcus Webb has started in Davenport’s place, but the rebuilding team will likely want to get a look at one of the pieces acquired in the Laremy Tunsil trade. Webb and Jesse Davis have been the Dolphins’ primary tackles this season.

A 2017 fourth-round pick, Davenport started 15 games for an embattled Texans line last season. Davenport suffered a hyperextended knee and a small crack in his tibia in practice sessions before Week 2. The Dolphins have deployed one of the league’s worst offensive lines this season but have won back-to-back games, so Davenport’s reintegration into the starting lineup may not be immediate. Davis, though, has experience at both tackle and guard and could move inside to accommodate the younger blocker’s return.

Dolphins Designate OT Julien Davenport To Return

October 31st, 2019 at 8:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins have designated offensive tackle Julien Davenport to return from injured reserve, the club announced today.

Davenport, a fourth-round pick of the Texans in the 2017 draft, started 19 games for Houston over his first two seasons in the NFL. He was packaged alongside two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and defensive back Johnson Bademosi in the deal that sent Laremy Tunsil, wide receiver Kenny Stills, and fourth- and sixth-round selections to the Texans.

Installed as Miami’s starting right tackle in Week 1, Davenport suffered a hyperextended knee and a small crack in his tibia in practice sessions before Week 2. Because he’s required to miss eight games after being placed on injured reserve, Davenport will be eligible to return to the Dolphins’ active roster in Week 10.

With Davenport sidelined, Miami has deployed J’Marcus Webb at left tackle and Jesse Davis on the right side. It’s unclear if Davenport will immediately reclaim a starting role, but the Dolphins could certainly use help up front, as they rank bottom-eight league-wide in both pass- and run-blocking, per Football Outsiders.

Dolphins To Place T Julien Davenport On IR

September 13th, 2019 at 1:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins will have to make another new plan at tackle. The injury trade acquisition Julien Davenport suffered will send him to IR, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports (on Twitter).

Davenport started in his first game since being acquired from the Texans. But this week in practice, Davenport suffered a hyperextended knee and small crack in his tibia. This is set to force the recent fourth-round pick to miss several weeks. He will now be unable to return until at least Week 10.

Miami used Davenport as its first-string right tackle in its 59-10 Week 1 loss, with guard-turned-tackle Jesse Davis making another position switch in moving from right to to left tackle. The Dolphins recently signed veteran J’Marcus Webb. He and rookie sixth-rounder Isaiah Prince represent Miami’s options at right tackle during Davenport’s absence.

Acquired in the Laremy Tunsil trade, Davenport had already made 19 career starts in Houston before lining up with Miami’s first-stringers Sunday. Webb has started 65 games; he’s been on five teams in the past five seasons.

Dolphins OT Julien Davenport To Miss Time

September 12th, 2019 at 6:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Acquired by the Dolphins in the Laremy Tunsil trade, offensive tackle Julien Davenport is going to miss time with his new club. Davenport suffered a hyperextended knee and small crack in his tibia during practice and will be sidelined for several weeks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Davenport may be placed on injured reserve, but he’d be a contender to return later this season.

Neither Davenport nor Miami left tackle Jesse Davis played particularly well in the Dolphins’ embarrassing Week 1 loss to the Ravens, as Pro Football Focus graded both linemen as bottom-10 tackles. Now, with Davenport out, the Dolphins will rely on recently-signed journeyman J’Marcus Webb to take over on the right side.

Davenport, a fourth-round pick of the Texans in the 2017 draft, started 19 games for Houston over his first two seasons in the NFL. He was packaged alongside two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and defensive back Johnson Bademosi in the deal that sent Tunsil, wide receiver Kenny Stills, and fourth- and sixth-round selections to the Texans.

The Dolphins aren’t necessarily attempting to compete, and their offensive line is among the weakest areas on a bare-bones roster. In Week 1, the unit ranked dead last in adjusted line yards and 19th in adjusted sack rate, per Football Outsiders.

Texans Acquire Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills From Dolphins

August 31st, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans are going full edge makeover on Saturday. Despite the Dolphins not being the team to land Jadeveon Clowney, they are finalizing a deal to send Laremy Tunsil to Houston, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

This is a blockbuster. Kenny Stills will also head to Houston for a package of picks, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo report (on Twitter) one of those will be a first-rounder. In fact, two of those picks will be first-rounders. The Texans are sending two first-rounders and a second-rounder to the Dolphins for Tunsil and Stills, the NFL.com trio adds (on Twitter). This is a massive return for the Dolphins’ now-Chris Grier-led front office.

The full details of the picks changing hands are as follows, courtesy of Albert Breer of SI.com (Twitter link). Miami will get first-round picks in 2020 and 2021 from Houston, and a second-rounder in 2021. The Texans will get a 2020 fourth-rounder as well as a 2021 sixth-rounder back from the Dolphins.

Additionally, the Dolphins will receive two players from the Texans as well. Tackle Julie’n Davenport and special-teamer Johnson Bademosi will head to Miami, Rapoport tweets. Davenport, a 2017 fourth-round pick, started 15 games for the Texans last season.

To recap, the Texans dealt Jadeveon Clowney to the Seahawks, acquired Carlos Hyde from the Chiefs, landed cornerback Keion Crossen from the Patriots and are now receiving Tunsil and Stills from the Dolphins. The Texans are operating without a GM. De facto GM Bill O’Brien has now given up a Khalil Mack-level haul for the Tunsil-headlined package.

With the Colts losing Andrew Luck, the Texans became the Las Vegas favorites to win the AFC South. The division champions in three of the past four seasons, the Texans are using Saturday as a springboard to solidify their position. This comes despite Houston drafting linemen in the first two rounds this year — Tytus Howard and Max Scharping — and signing Matt Kalil. The Texans were set to play Howard at guard and Kalil at tackle. Tunsil will now protect Deshaun Watson‘s blind side.

No quarterback since Jon Kitna in 2006 took more sacks than Watson did in 2018, 62. As a result, the Texans will have a nearly remade offensive front. Tunsil started 30 games for the Dolphins at left tackle since 2017. He played left guard in 2016. He was expected to be 2016’s No. 1 overall pick before a leaked video damaged his draft stock, dropping him to Miami at No. 13.

Tunsil became extension-eligible in January, and it’s a good bet the Texans — who just cleared Clowney’s $15.9MM tag price off their books — will begin discussions soon. Two years remain on Tunsil’s rookie contract. Unlike the Mack trade, there is no extension coming immediately, but Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that is in the Texans’ plans.

Stills functioned as Miami’s deep threat for four seasons. While he never matched his career-best yardage total for the 2014 Saints, Stills twice surpassed 700 yards and has scored 21 touchdowns over the past three years. He makes for an interesting fit alongside DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. The latter is one of the NFL’s better deep threats. Stills, 27, is under contract through 2020. Nearly $15MM remains on his deal.

The Dolphins resisted dealing Tunsil in a Clowney swap, but the rebuilding team will now have an additional first-round pick with which to work. This accelerates the Dolphins’ rebuild project and obviously weakens their 2019 roster. They will be perhaps the top contender for the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, which could well be a quarterback. Miami was the first team reported to be eyeing the 2020 signal-caller crop.

Texans Sign Deshaun Watson

May 12th, 2017 at 8:50am CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have signed the bulk of their 2017 draft class. Only third round running back D’Onta Foreman remains unsigned. Here’s the full list of every Houston draft pick who is now under contract: "<strong

The Texans were said to be targeting Watson for several weeks and we learned on draft night that it wasn’t just a smokescreen. Houston traded this year’s No. 25 overall pick and its 2018 first round choice to get the No. 12 selection from the Browns in order to take the Clemson QB. Watson was universally regarded as one of the top QBs in this year’s class and some might argue that the athletic signal caller has more upside than any of his peers. Now, the rookie might have a chance at wrestling the starting job away from Tom Savage.

Cunningham was projected by some as a first round pick and he almost went No. 23 overall when the Giants were on the clock. Luckily for Houston, the Giants wound up taking Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram at No. 23 and passed on him again at No. 55, allowing them to grab the Vanderbilt product all the way down at No. 57.

Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.

Draft Notes: Mahomes, Texans, Ravens

April 1st, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted draft notes from around the NFL…

  • The Texans held a private workout for Bucknell left offensive tackle Julién Davenport, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Davenport, who has also worked out for the Patriots, Cowboys, and Jaguars, is projected to be a late first/early second-round pick. As Wilson notes, the Texans could certainly use some reinforcement on the offensive line, especially with Derek Newton expected to miss next season with torn patellar tendons.
  • Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been scheduled for a league-high 18 official visits and private workouts, sources tell Wilson. The signal caller recently worked out for the Bengals, Cardinals, Saints, Chargers, and Browns. Mahomes completed 65.7-percent of his passes last season for 5,052 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Over the past three seasons, he’s also added another 22 rushing touchdowns.
  • Purdue wide receiver DeAngelo Yancey will visit the Ravens later this month, reports Wilson (via Twitter). As a senior, the wideout hauled in 49 receptions for 951 yards and 10 touchdowns. NFL.com predicts Yancey could be selected on the third day of the draft.