Davis also was one of the team's top gunners on punt coverage a year ago, posting four tackles. It's a position that lost Jeff Janis in free agency, so the former fifth-round pick could help there as well.

The whole package is important, and Davis would love to compete for snaps on offense and work his way up the receiver depth chart as a third-year pro, too.

But in a year no one else has emerged yet as a home-run threat on returns, it's his work on special teams that separates him right now. If that can earn him a spot, he'll take it and try to make up for lost time in other areas later.

"It's versatility. In this league, that's kind of what you need when you're not a top three receiver," Davis said. "I've learned that because having Jordy and Randall and 'Te here, you have to. If you're going to make this team – kind of like Jeff Janis – if you're not going to be those top three guys, you have to do something in a game."

Davis wishes he'd gotten back to practice sooner, but he had to listen to the training staff and stay on their timetable. It's put him in a difficult spot, trying to make the team with just one preseason performance, but special teams coordinator Ron Zook has continually referenced Davis in interviews this summer, an indication his abilities are long from forgotten.

"He's proven some things in this league, and we have a history there, so you evaluate that part of it," General Manager Brian Gutekunst said. "He's still a young player, still on an upward trend where he's at in his career. You have to weigh it all."

Davis said he felt pretty good at practice on Monday and expects to be able to go full speed in Thursday's game. The natural tendency will be to push himself to make a first and final impression for this camp, so he'll have to guard against compromising himself physically or mentally with so much at stake.

He's confident in his game, that he'll get his chance, and that he'll seize the moment when it arrives.