The Falcons announced on Tuesday afternoon that the team was parting ways with Marlon Davidson , who is a former 2nd round pick from the Thomas Dimitroff era.
When Atlanta selected Davidson 47th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, he was a highly touted recruit out of Auburn. Davidson joins Deadrin Senat — a 2018 3rd round pick — as an early-round pick from the previous regime released by Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith.
It wasn’t that Davidson was a bust; he’s just been dealt a lousy hand year after year. Lower body injuries have hampered his entire career, keeping him off the field his rookie season and again last year. Davidson has been on the injured reserve with a knee injury since the start of the season. But in the 19 games he was healthy, Davidson had one sack and one improbable pick six.
Davidson just hasn’t been able to stay healthy, and the emergence of Ta’Quon Graham along the defensive front has made the former 2nd rounder expendable. Graham has seen extended playing time in his second season as a pro, looking much improved from a year ago. The Falcons seemingly have a starting-caliber defensive lineman in Graham to pair with Grady Jarrett for the future. Hopefully, Davidson can have a similar career path as someone like Adrian Clayborn, who pretty much missed two of his first four seasons in the NFL.
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