Going back to his days at LSU, Michael Brockers has been a nose tackle through and through. He’s played the position in both a 4-3 and 3-4 defense, and performed at a very high level. There was little reason to move him from his natural position, but that’s exactly what the Rams did on Sunday against Dallas.

Wade Phillips and Sean McVay decided to kick Brockers outside to defensive end, allowing him to rush the passer in a role similar to Aaron Donald. And wouldn’t you know, he had one of the best games of his career.

“I thought Michael Brockers had a great game wherever he played. He had a tremendous game,” Phillips said during his press conference Thursday. “I thought he dominated the line of scrimmage in the run and the pass — made several big plays for us. He caused an interception, he batted a ball down, he got several hits on the quarterback. I thought he played really well.”

What was the reason for the switch? Dallas’ monstrous offensive line had something to do with it, boasting two of the biggest tackles in the league in Tyron Smith and La’el Collins.

Phillips believed that presented a good matchup for Brockers, who’s a powerful guy with elite strength up front.

“He’s a really, really good player at any position he plays,” Phillips said. “We just thought we were stronger — especially against the big offensive tackles that Dallas had. He played really well against those guys, so that shows you how good he can be.”

The change didn’t come suddenly just before the game started. This was something the coaching staff discussed throughout the week before kickoff. Still, Brockers admits he was nervous about changing his position for the first time since he was in high school.

“We talked about it last week, [that it would] better our team for me to move out to end and kind of get some work,” Brockers said. “I’m not gonna lie, I was a little nervous at first – new position versus a good team like Dallas. So yeah, I was a little nervous but I got out there and I felt good. I think the coaches leaned on me a lot and really preparing well worked out for me.”

Sean McVay praised Brockers, as well, saying he was “excellent” against the Cowboys. Brockers seemingly affected every play the Cowboys ran, whether it was moving the line backwards or getting a sack on Dak Prescott.

McVay liked what he saw, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Brockers stick at defensive end going forward with Tanzel Smart taking over at nose tackle.

“I just think his ability to play with some length, his athleticism, some of those opportunities where he’s playing a gap removed from where he was at that nose position gives him some versatility and he showed up and played like the player that we expected to,” McVay said.