LOS ANGELES – Wide receiver CJ Daniels used to study the releases of Davante Adams. Now, he has the ability to learn straight from the source, in person.
The rookie Daniels sought out Adams prior to their five-week summer break, then followed through on the advice. If Adams' words didn't make that apparent, Daniels' actions – specifically, his performance in training camp practices so far – have.
"I'm proud of him," Adams said after Sunday's jog-through practice at Rams Training Camp presented by CommunityAmerica Credit Union at LMU. "We had a conversation right before we broke for the five-week break. He came to me and asked what I thought he needed to work on. We talked about a couple of small things. I saw a lot of good stuff from him during the offseason program and he came back and did exactly those things. His play speed, making plays on the football, catching the ball."
Daniels told therams.com after Monday's practice that he wanted to come in to training camp "as confident as possible, and there's nobody better to ask than Davante Adams" because of Adams' leadership, being a veteran and playing at a high level for years. So, before the break, he asked Adams in the locker room what he thought he could do better, and what he needed to do to come in and be confident and have a role in Los Angeles' offense.
"He gave me a few tips as far as just making plays on the ball, be who I am, go out there with the utmost confidence because I've been doing it my whole life," Daniels said. "It's just the nerves I think in OTAs getting up out of me, knowing the system, learning the system, and being confident through that."
Soliciting advice is a daily thing for Daniels, not exclusive to just that pre-summer break conversation.
"He is definitely a great mentor," Daniels said. "Each and every day, I ask him questions on the small things, the details, and things he thinks I can get better at."
The confidence has been apparent. While Daniels has so far worked most with the backup quarterbacks, he made multiple impressive catches during the first week of training camp that reinforced the confidence gained from Adams' feedback.
"Definitely a guy I modeled my game after," Daniels said, echoing comments he made in a video conference with reporters after he was drafted in the sixth round this spring. "And being in the same (wide receiver) room (as him), it's really a dream come true. Everybody don't get this opportunity, so for me to be in the room with him, I'm trying to soak (up) as much game, as much knowledge as I can."
Adams, who is preparing for his 13th NFL season, remembers how that felt when he was a rookie in 2014, so he understands how natural that initial discomfort can feel. Seeing Daniels apply and complement that feedback with his ability shown in the spring has been satisfying.
"I feel like when he first came in, there were a couple of play-making opportunities where I feel like it may have been nerves, starting back out," Adams said. "Whether it's getting with a new quarterback, which I had some of those plays and I've been playing a lot longer than he has. It's a natural thing to come in and not feel fully comfortable yet. It looked like it, where I could see he was moving and he had all the ability, but I wanted him to play like he belonged. This camp he's been showing that."
"It gave me a lot of confidence," Daniels said of that conversation with Adams. "It allowed me not to overthink, allowed me to just go out and be who I am at the end of the day."
