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The St. Louis Rams are a very young team and, as a result, it’s not uncommon to see a few late round draft picks [sometimes undrafted] stick around. Enter Cody Davis...an undrafted free agent from last year, who joined a team that didn't have much depth at safety.
Davis was an intriguing UDFA, as he'd had his share of on-field issues that lead to the absence of his name being called in the first seven rounds. For example, he was consistently late to the ball on passing plays. However, Davis is 6'2 and ran a 4.4 in the 40 yard dash at his Texas Tech pro day. Those measurements were good enough for the Rams to ink a deal with Davis. As a player, Davis identifies more with T.J. McDonald than Earl Thomas. During his college career, you wouldn’t have seen Davis making incredible interceptions, but you would've seen him making solid tackles.
Roster Battle
Davis' primary competition will be Matt Daniels and the Rams two safeties from the 2014 draft; Maurice Alexander and Christian Bryant. Daniels has been an interesting player, but he just can't stay healthy. Alexander will probably end up starting at some point during his career, but is that time now? Or years from now? Alexander is a raw project, but I do like him. Bryant I don't know much about, besides the fact that he's coming off a broken ankle, and that he was a solid starter for Ohio State. Fellow TST writer Brandon Bate wrote about the former Buckeye a couple months ago.
Since there's two backup safety positions available, my bet would be that Davis and Alexander solidify their spot on the team’s depth chart in those spots.
Will Cody Davis make the 2014 roster?
Yes he will make the roster for 2014. The Rams have nothing but uncertainty at safety this season, and while Rodney McLeod and T.J. McDonald will start, there's not much of a sure thing behind them. Plus, the Rams would be better off playing Davis - and not one of their rookies - if someone in the secondary should sustain an injury.
I doubt Davis will develop into a starter, but he should be a solid special teams player that could develop into a reliable backup. Who knows, Davis could be a better version of 2012's starting safety Craig Dahl.