THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – On-camera, Rams rookie defensive lineman Tyler Davisis soft-spoken.
Do not let that fool you into misconstruing that as his demeanor on-field.
The sixth-round pick out of Clemson let his play do the talking with six total tackles (tied for the team-high; included two for loss) and one QB hit in his Los Angeles debut last Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
"Just go out there and make plays, and do what I'm supposed to do, for real," Davis said postgame, when asked about his mindset coming into his first NFL preseason.
Teammates who have worked alongside him and seen him in practice since this spring weren't surprised by the performance.
Second-year nose tackle Kobie Turner, who is familiar with Davis' game from when his Wake Forest Demon Deacons faced Davis' Clemson Tigers in 2022, described Davis as "a guy that just tries to do all the right things."
Turner said Davis is not trying to talk too much or teach too much, "he just is working through the process and is always figuring out or coming back with questions of, 'how can I get back to this process?' or 'what did I do wrong on this plan?'
"So really, at a base level, I have a lot of respect for the way he approaches the game," Turner toldtheRams.com.
The play that got the most attention from teammates and analysts alike was the way he traced a screen to tackle Cowboys running back Snoop Conner.
NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger on X (formerly known as Twitter) highlighted clips showcasingn Davis' overall effort, and defensive back John Johnson re-posted the breakdown calling out the way Davis re-traced a screen in one of those clips.
That play also got Turner's attention.
"He's just all around the ball, honestly, flying around, and really the effort to make plays, that's something that speaks a lot to me," Turner told theRams.com. "Because in this league, there's a lot of plays to be made, and it's just about who's going to go out and make 'em. Like that one play where he tracked down the screen, I was like, 'Yeah, I can get with that. I got a whole lot of respect for that.' I'm just looking forward to seeing him continue to stack days and seeing the confidence that it can bring, the continued focus on this process, and what all that will be able to do for him this year."
Davis may not vocalize that confidence, but his attitude and effort already speaks volumes. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula said Davis has been consistent throughout OTAs and throughout practice since he arrived in L.A.
"He's a guy that shows up every day," Shula said. "He is not going to say a whole lot, but from his tape at Clemson, starting from his freshman year on, you see when he steps up and it's when it's 11-on-11 football, he finds a way to make plays. He's had a really good camp so far."
