5 Rams who are locking up versatile roles after preseason Week 2

(1) - Chaotic DT Tyler Davis

The LA Rams front office needed to bolster the defensive front through the 2024 NFL Draft. Thankfully, the team did not put down their pencils after drafting DT Braden Fiske. The team stuck to the plan, and added defensive tackle Tyler Davis on Day 3. So far, Davis has been delivering, and doing so in such a way as to be far better than even the most optimistic projections. He is even listed among Bleacher Reports' Top 10 NFL Rookies Already Looking Like Draft Day Steals by Kristopher Knox.

Davis has been a strong performer on the Rams young and anonymous defensive front this season. Because the teams has had to find players who could fill in the void created by the absence of two starters this year, the rookie defensive lineman has gotten plenty of reps this year. But it takes a special type of player to convert opportunities into production. Tyler Davis is that type of special player:

Perhaps one of the more significant quotes cited by Kristopher Knox in his write-up about Davis. He quotes Rams HC Sean McVay's comments during the NFL broadcast for this gem:

"I got a text from Dabo Swinney (Clemson HC) after we drafted him (Tyler Davis).

There are a lot of great players out of Clemson. (He said) If I had an all-time team in terms of who I would want of all these great players we've had, he would be on that team"

- Coach Sean McVay

Sometimes, you find some former college coaches overselling their players, giving them the benefit of the doubt to help the future NFL career of a college player who played hard for them. But in this case, Davis seems to be all of that, and more.

Because he blends a unique combination of size, power, and agility, the Rams have been sliding him to a number of positions on the defensive line. As a result, he gives the team the flexibility to throw a kaleidoscope of looks to opposing offenses. And that variety of presentations gives the defense a chance to dictate blocking mismatches.

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