Kalia Davis Stands Out in the 49ers' Preseason Loss to the Titans
![Dec 3, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Kalia Davis (93) celebrates his sack against the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Dec 3, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Kalia Davis (93) celebrates his sack against the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4409,h_2480,x_0,y_40/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_49ers/01j512cnwg9kqx8d6jk4.jpg)
The 2022 49ers draft class is one of the worst in franchise history.
With their final pick, they took Brock Purdy, one of the best selections in franchise history. But look at the rest of the class: Drake Jackson, who's out for the year. Ty Davis-Price, who's no longer on the team. Danny Gray, who has one career catch. Spencer Burford, who got benched last year. Samuel Womack, who has played 216 defensive snaps in his career. Nick Zakelj, who has played a mere 12 offensive snaps. Tariq Castro-Fields, who never made the team. And then there's Kalia Davis.
The 49ers took Davis in the sixth round. He was injured when they took him -- had he been healthy, he would have gone much earlier. But the 49ers essentially had to redshirt him for his rookie season. So in two seasons, he has played just 54 defensive snaps.
But Davis played 30 defensive snaps on Saturday in the 49ers' 17-13 preseason loss to the Titans and he was arguably their best defensive tackle. He recorded a sack and a tackle for loss and he blew up one more play in the backfield. He was getting constant penetration against the run and the pass.
Suddenly, Davis looks like an ascending player who could help the 49ers this season. They've had issues defending the run recently, and a stout, powerful defensive tackle such as Davis could help fix the issue. He's competing with Kevin Givens to play in the second-string defensive line.