LOS ANGELES— The soccer pitch at Loyola Marymount does not yet know what hit it.
It is July, which means the pads are still in the locker room and the hitting is still theoretical, but the energy crackling through the Rams' first practice of training camp carried the weight of something heavier than a shorts-and-shells session.
It carries expectation.
The kind that follows a team one year removed from an NFC Championship Game appearance and one blockbuster trade removed from acquiring the most terrifying edge rusher in football.
It took Myles Garrett one practice to show why the Rams should be the prohibitive favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Ric Tapia - The Sporting Tribune
Myles Garrett #95 of the Los Angeles Rams smiles during training camp at Loyola Marymount University on July 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
"We've been looking forward to this day for a long time," defensive coordinator Chris Shula said afterward, "and it definitely lived up to it."
Garrett, who spent his first week in June acclimating to his new team through individual work only, moved through 11-on-11 periods with the kind of explosive grace that explains why the Rams mortgaged significant capital to bring him west.
Even without pads, his presence bent the geometry of the field—breaking into the backfield for a simulated sack here, levitating to swat down a screen pass there.
Trent McDuffie, the league's highest-paid cornerback and no stranger to elite talent after winning two Super Bowls in Kansas City, found himself watching like everyone else.
"When he's out there, you can just feel his aura," McDuffie said. "He's gigantic. He's a monster. I know he has a little chip on his shoulder, and I know he's excited about being here, so I think that just fires everybody else up."
That chip, that aura, that monstrosity—whatever you want to call it—represents the central bet of the Rams' 2026 season.
After a defense that started strong but faded down the stretch last year, general manager Les Snead went all-in, importing not just Garrett but McDuffie and fellow Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson to remake a secondary that needed playmakers.
Watson wasted no time validating the investment, deflecting a Stetson Bennett deep ball intended for Davante Adams in what became the play of the day—a pass broken up by Watson, corralled by a diving Kam Kinchens, the safety cupping the ball before it touched grass.
Ric Tapia - The Sporting Tribune
Stetson Bennett IV #13 of the Los Angeles Rams throws during training camp at Loyola Marymount University on July 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
It was the kind of collaborative defensive brilliance the Rams are banking on.
On the other side of the ball, the story was absence and opportunity. Matthew Stafford, fully healthy after last summer's back injury hijacked his camp, was given a scheduled day off as part of McVay's plan to keep his quarterback fresh through the four-day practice block.
That opened the first-team huddle for Bennett, who has made competitiveness his calling card since arriving as a fourth-round pick.
"I appreciate his competitiveness in all moments," offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase said. "He competes. And I think anybody enjoys playing with a quarterback who competes, who's going to throw it all in there."
Bennett found Tyler Higbee for the day's first touchdown during red-zone work, hitting the veteran tight end on a crossing route. But he also learned that this new-look defense will make him earn every completion.
Meanwhile, rookie Ty Simpson operated the second-team offense with the posture of a player trying to accelerate a steep learning curve. After every series, Simpson sought out quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone for feedback, a hunger that Scheelhaase noted as the foundation for growth.
Ric Tapia - The Sporting Tribune
Ty Simpson #15 of the Los Angeles Rams throws during training camp at Loyola Marymount University on July 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
"Anytime you've got that mindset, you're going to continue to grow each time that you're out there," Scheelhaase said.
The skill-position battles began crystallizing immediately.
Ric Tapia - The Sporting Tribune
Davante Adams #17 of the Los Angeles Rams runs after the catch during training camp at Loyola Marymount University on July 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Behind Adams and Puka Nacua, a fascinating duel is unfolding between Jordan Whittington and Konata Mumpfield for the WR3 role. Mumpfield, arguably the second-best route runner on the roster behind Adams himself, separates with surgical precision. Whittington brings a different weapon—toughness that rivals Nacua's, contested-catch reliability, and yards-after-catch violence.
Both made their cases Sunday.
In the backfield, Blake Corum flashed the jump-cut explosiveness that made him a star at Michigan, while Jarquez Hunter broke off a long gain that turned heads.
The tight end room, already the league's heaviest user of 13 personnel last season, welcomed rookie Max Klare to a crowded competition with Higbee, Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen, and Terrance Ferguson.
Ric Tapia - The Sporting Tribune
Tyler Higbee #89 of the Los Angeles Rams runs after the catch during training camp at Loyola Marymount University on July 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
As the sun pranced past LMU's campus, the second-team defense held firm in the red zone—keeping the offense out of the end zone as the clock expired—McVay's opening message to the team hung in the air.
Be courageous.
Wear your heart on your sleeve. Take chances.
Ric Tapia - The Sporting Tribune
Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams talks to the team during training camp at Loyola Marymount University on July 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
For a team that has reloaded rather than rebuilt, that has imported superstars and entrusted rookies and bet everything on the chemistry of new parts, courage may be the most necessary ingredient.
Sunday was only Day 1.
No pads. No tackling. Just the outline of something that could be special.
But when Myles Garrett lines up on the edge, and the field tilts in his direction, special starts to feel like an understatement.