Xavier Smith 'looked like a stud' in first game since NFC championship

For Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Xavier Smith, 2025 was a contrasting year. Despite his breakout season where he made plays on special teams and on offense, the year ended on the most sour of notes, as his muffed punts in the NFC Championship Game played a major role in the team's loss. Smith has attacked the 2026 preseason with vigor, looking to move forward with confidence and hopefully an increase in production. He took his first steps towards those goals last Saturday with a picture-perfect showing. On four targets, Smith made four catches for 26 yards, while handling the team's punt returns without issue. On one return, Smith took it for 40 yards, setting up what would be the game-winning touchdown four plays later. Head coach Sean McVay was asked about Smith's approach since the end of last season, revealing his thoughts on the performance. “I think the best part about it is number one, he knew he wasn't alone," said McVay. "I think it takes courage to even put yourself in these settings where you go out there and sometimes it might be great and [sometimes] it might not go down for us, but you've got to have the courage to get back up and come back, and that's exactly what he's done this whole offseason. "I think he's felt a lot of support from his teammates. I know he feels that way from his teammates and his coaches. What I saw the other day was a mentally resilient individual that, in the first live game action, didn't blink, didn't flinch, did a great job with his decision-making. He looked like a stud so I was happy for him.” Smith appears to be in the driver's seat for establishing his role on the team. However, Brennan Presley had a strong performance as well, and CJ Daniels is a promising rookie. That's led to an interesting situation entering the second week of the preseason. With the Rams having a tendency to rest even more players in Week 3 of the preseason, Smith could be days away from locking down a special teams role to start the regular season. This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Xavier Smith 'looked like a stud' in first game since NFC championship