Can Tyler Davis be part of the committee to replace Aaron Donald?

Stepping in for the now-departed Jonah Williams would be a big start

If the Los Angeles Rams are to fill the gaping hole on the defensive interior left by the retirement of Aaron Donald, it’s going to take an “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men” effort. L.A. appears to be doing just that, bringing in 10 candidates to grab a shovel. Tyler Davis was drafted out of Clemson at #196 of Round 6 of 2024 NFL Draft to take a part in the re-trenching.

A unanimous four-star recruit out of high school, Davis was amongst the most sought after defensive tackles in the nation. Clemson snagged and put him right to work as freshman, starting 13 games. He would go on to collect 52 over his tenure and set team record for starts by a defensive player. He did however, miss multiple games in 2020 and 2021 with ankle, knee, and bicep (torn) woes.

Played as part of a deep, talented rotation, he and five others that lined up along side him during his college tenure on the defensive front have been drafted into the pro’s. Even with combining the rotation and missed games, Davis was still able to amass solid on-field production. For his career, he logged 144 tackles, 29.5 of those for loss, and 16 sacks.

Starts and stats were not all he collected, grabbing four All-ACC awards in five seasons and being named a Second-team All-American in 2022. His Tiger teammates voted him a permanent team captain in his final two seasons and he won multiple academic awards to complement his play on the field. Davis will turn 24 in November and earned his bachelors degree, along with a certificate in Athletic Leadership. He participated in the 2024 Senior Bowl workouts and game.

How many defensive linemen do the Rams need?

Start by stating the obvious, it’s a very inexperienced group, with only Larrell Murchison and Bobby Brown having more than one pro season under their belt. Second-year men Kobie Turner, Desjuan Johnson, and Cory Durden also return, joined by drafted rookies Braden Fiske and Tyler Davis and undrafted free agents (UDFA) Anthony Goodlow, David Olajigba, and Tuli Letuligasenoa.

Although how new defensive coordinator, Chris Shula, arranges the defense remains to be played out, since 2017 L.A. has slotted six or seven interior defensive line roles on the opening roster. It’s safe to say that, barring injury, Brown, Turner, and Fiske are locks to make the 53 and likely starting berth’s, while the remaining seven battle for backup spots.

Where does Tyler Davis fit on the depth chart?

Athletic testing

Named to the Feldman’s Freaks list for athleticism and strength, although in Davis’ case, it’s more about the power he generates. Feldman said:

“… (Davis) bench-pressed 405 pounds, doing 30 reps of 225. He’s squatted 680, front-squatted 465, power-cleaned 350 and deadlifted 655. He also was timed this offseason at 4.95 in the 40”.

Relative Athletic Score gave him a mark of 6.98. It is a solid score and ranks him 5th best out of the Rams current 10-man interior defensive line group.

At the NFL Combine, Davis measured in at 6’ 2” 301 lb., 9 1/4” hands, 31 3/8” arms and spanned 75 1/2”. At the Senior Bowl he was recorded at 6’ 1 3/4” 299 lb. with 9 1/4” hands, 30 3/4” arms and a 75 1/2” wingspan. While his length is certainly proportional for his size, it’s not outstanding and could put him at a disadvantage when moving up to the pro ranks.

For comparison’s sake, again Gil Brandt’s positional testing target numbers are included in bold.

In speed over distance and initial quickness, he timed 5.02/5.15 in the forty with a 1.72/1.80 10-yard split. For the explosion drills, Davis leapt a 28.5”/30” vertical and 9’/8’9” broad as well as 29/26 reps on the bench. Finishing with agility, change of direction, burst, and balance, he timed a 5.0/4.55 shuttle and 7.69/7.75 3cone.

Davis comfortably fits into the athletic parameters of an NFL interior lineman. There would seem to be a disconnect when comparing his poor shuttle between testing to his other numbers and his strong 10-yard split and 3cone appear to belie it. But Davis just doesn’t move as well laterally as he does on a linear plane, he wins with his downhill game.

What does the film show?

One thing for certain, if you want to want to scout/watch Davis play, a simple YouTube search will offer 20+ full games and defensive isolation cutups to glean through. That’s not counting highlight packages and they cover his full tenure at Clemson going back to 2019.

Compact, blocky frame. Davis’ game is built on get-off and strength. While his build should give him a heavy dose of natural leverage, he can sometimes play too high and overreach, which makes him top-heavy and neutralizes his power and contact balance. His average length may give him trouble in keeping longer NFL linemen off his chest, but he is a good hand fighter, .

With all the talent on the Clemson front, Davis was generally relegated as a run-stopper and block-eater. When he stays low he is very hard to move off his spot and can be a penetrator. With his initial burst, powerful punch, and grip strength, he can control or stack/shed single blockers or drive them with constantly moving feet. His tackles for loss production shows a propensity for making plays around the line of scrimmage. In pursuit, relentless is often used as a descriptor. He uses his red-hot motor to react and flow fluidly to the play. He generally has good awareness as to what’s going on around him, but can be susceptible to double-team and down blocks.

If Davis has some untapped potential, it’s as a pass rusher. He has the traits to win at the point of attack, he’s explosive off the snap, possesses a powerful punch, has the drive strength to push/penetrate, and good enough with his hand-fighting to break free. His relative lack of pass rush production is relatable to his college role. He played a very disciplined style, maintaining his gap responsibilities first while working to the ball.

His position coach and Clemson Defensive Run Coordinator, Nick Eason, told Tigernet.com:

“Tyler Davis is a great example of what takes to help any team win. He is accountable, disciplined, tough, competitive and smart. He has earned this moment because he outworked everyone. There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Tyler Davis does the work and earns the credit.”

While Davis doesn’t have a toolbox full of pass rush moves, primarily leaning on the bullrush and swim move, it would be interesting to see him given the freedom to shoot gaps in a more aggressive role.

Final analysis

There’s a solid chance for Davis to make the roster. First, the Rams, in the seven-year Snead/McVay era, have kept 86% of draft picks on the opening roster. Second, after the starters, it’s a wide-open competition and Davis will be battling against a collection of like-prospects— late-round picks and UDFA’s. With a good camp showing, DT#4 is realistically within grasp.

But at what position? What about role? Is he destined to be an early down run-stopper? Or can he push the pocket and get enough QB pressure to be an every down contributor?

The final word is that Tyler Davis is an experienced, smart, hard-working interior defensive lineman. A high-floor prospect who lacks a sky-high ceiling. He has shown the versatility to play up-and-down the line and that has been a valued trait on past Rams defenses. While overall, he was a really solid run defender, a lot of time at nose tackle may be a bridge too far. One of the negatives about his game that really stood out on film was his difficulty to anchor against double teams. There does appear to be some upside as a pass rusher, at the very least, the traits are there.

While replacing Aaron Donald is out of the question, there is certainly a path for Davis to replace the now-empty Jonah Williams 5T role— as the dirty work guy.