IRVINE, Calif. – Head coach Sean McVay, special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis and cornerback David Long Jr. each held press conferences with local media following Day 8 of 2022 Rams Training Camp presented by UNIFY Financial Credit Union, discussing the latest on wide receiver Van Jefferson, DeCamillis' current assessment of his unit, the competitiveness within the defensive back room and more.
Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from those conversations, which you can watch in their entirety below:
"I think it's really about guys maximizing on just playing to the best of their ability." – McVay
- With Jefferson out for a few weeks after he undergoes minor knee surgery on Tuesday, younger players like Ben Skowronek, Tutu Atwell and Brandon Powell will get more opportunities in practice to show what they're capable of.
- "All three of those guys have done a great job," McVay said. "(Wide receivers coach) Eric Yarber always does an outstanding job having guys ready to go so they kind of know, but there's an ongoing communication that exists for sure."
"I would say there's a definite competition (at punter)." – DeCamillis
- Veteran Riley Dixon and undrafted rookie free agent signee Cameron Dicker are battling it out for the starting punter job as the Rams search for Johnny Hekker's successor.
- "Riley's obviously a veteran. I've had him before in Denver," DeCamillis said. "He's got a very similar skill set to what we had before, but Cam's doing a good job for us too so it should be a real good battle."
"I feel like everybody's up to speed, even the young guys." – Long
- Between the performances of the newcomers and the returnees, it's been a highly-competitive first week-plus of training camp for the Rams defensive backs.
- "This is the fun part about playing football, once everybody's got everything down and they're comfortable," Long said. "We're just out trying to make plays."
