Rams Head Coach Has Praise for Former Clemson Standout

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay recently had praise for a former Clemson standout entering his second NFL season.

McVay appeared on the Rams OTAs Recap show to discuss this offseason’s organized team activities and break down which young players have made strides in their development.

One player that McVay is very pleased with is former Tiger tight end Davis Allen, who is coming off his rookie season in 2023 after being selected by the Rams in the fifth round (No. 175 overall pick) of last year’s draft.

“I thought Davis Allen took a tremendous step in the right direction,” McVay said.

After Rams starting tight end Tyler Higbee tore his ACL in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs, Allen filled in admirably while catching each of the two passes that were thrown to him and totaling 28 yards on those two receptions, including a 22-yarder.

Prior to that playoff game, Allen appeared in 15 regular season games as a rookie, posting 10 catches for 95 yards on 11 targets and scoring his first career touchdown.

That touchdown was a 7-yard catch-and-run against the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 10, when the 6-foot-6, 245-pounder finished the game with four catches for 50 yards.

Allen matched that reception total with four catches for 25 yards in the final game of the regular season against the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 7. He came on for the Rams down the stretch of the 2023 campaign, as all 10 of his catches came in the final seven regular season games.

“The game makes sense to him,” McVay said of Allen. “I thought when Higbee ended up needing a spell towards the latter part of the year, if he missed a game, Davis filled in and did a great job. He played big-time in Baltimore, played big in Washington, made some big-time plays in the Detroit game. I always loved watching his tape at Clemson, where there’s certain guys you can just see have a feel.”

A reliable receiver, physical blocker and team leader, Allen racked up 88 receptions, 951 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns over 54 games (25 starts) in his Clemson career from 2019-22.

The 2022 All-ACC selection left Clemson as one of only six tight ends in school history to record double-digit career touchdown receptions. His 12 touchdown catches tied for the second-most career touchdown receptions by a tight end in Clemson history.

–Photo courtesy Jessica Rapfogel-USA TODAY Sports

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