Bellmore's Tyler Davis in a tough battle to make Jaguars' roster

Things are a lot different for Tyler Davis now.

This time last year, the North Bellmore native was a rookie at Jaguars training camp trying to find his way in a league that was trying to find its way in a pandemic. There were no organized team activities, no minicamps, no preseason games — just a dramatically altered training camp before a head-on rush into the regular season. That meant fewer reps — and fewer chances to stand out — for Davis, a sixth-round pick out of Georgia Tech.

"It was kind of a wake-up call," Davis said of the different preseason.

Fast forward to this year, and the tight end is glad he went through the chaos. Everything is coming to him a lot easier, and he was able to build on the little playing time he did get last year — 115 snaps in eight games, mostly on special teams — and find areas to improve.

"I feel like I came in and just picked up things faster and had tricks of the trade that I figured out from the previous year," Davis told Newsday via phone before practice earlier this week. "I’m definitely thankful for how the first year went, but it’s easier now knowing the stuff that I went through."

Davis, a Newsday All-Long Island second-team selection at quarterback for Mepham High School in 2013 and 2014, also finally has the benefit of preseason games — the kind of full-speed action that can’t quite be replicated in a more controlled practice environment.

He took advantage of that in his preseason debut last Saturday. He made his first professional catch for his first professional touchdown, hauling in a 7-yard pass up the seam from Jake Luton with 29 seconds left in a 23-13 loss to the Browns.

"I’ve been watching the NFL since I was 5 years old, started playing when I was 6 years old, so it was truly a dream come true," Davis said. "I’ve been wanting that moment for so long in my life, so to be able to accomplish it, it was pretty special."

Still, Davis faces a tough battle to make the roster, thanks in part to a crowded tight end room. James O’Shaughnessy and Ben Ellefson return from last season, and the Jaguars signed free agent Chris Manhertz and drafted fifth-round rookie Luke Farrell, who played for new Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer at Ohio State.

Davis embraces the competition.

"You see one guy make a play and then you’ve got to be able to go make the next play," he said. "It kind of just brings out the best in everyone . . . but at the same time, we’re all helping each other. If we see something, we’ll let another tight end who’s in there know what we’re seeing and just give little tips and reminders before going out."

And then there’s the other tight end the Jaguars signed this offseason. The other guy who played for Meyer in college. The one who draws headlines despite previously never playing a snap at the position and being out of football for six years: Tim Tebow.

Tebow was released on Tuesday as part of the Jaguars’ first round of roster cuts. If it was anyone else, it would have been just another name to compete with for one of 53 roster spots. But for Davis, it was much, much more.

"I grew up a Florida Gators fan because of one man, and his name was Tim Tebow," he said. "In high school as a quarterback, getting recruited, everyone said I couldn’t throw a ball, that I was a runner, and they said the same thing about Tim. So I’d kind of been wanting to be exactly like him my entire life. And then to be able to sit directly next to him in our meeting rooms was just an awesome experience. He had great point of views on life in general and football and being a man and just always had a positive mindset. It was truly something I’ll never forget. I’m so thankful I was able to have that opportunity."

By Nick Klopsis

nicholas.klopsis@newsday.com@nickklopsis

Nick Klopsis is Newsday.com's sports editor. He often can be found studying NFL and college football film for his latest draft breakdown.