SANTA CLARA — Kalia Davis has been overshadowed by the three rookies selected specifically to breathe life into the 49ers’ defensive line.

The development of first-round pick Mykel Williams, second-round selection Alfred Collins and fourth-round pick C.J. West has been a focal point of training camp. Of late, undrafted free agent tackle Sebastian Valdez has crashed the party.

And Davis is fine with that.

“They keep us on our toes,” Davis said Tuesday. “They’re young, so they’re making mistakes but they’re going fast. Seeing them go fast like that makes me pick up my speed, but I’m also there to help them because they’re making the same mistakes I used to make. It’s fun having a lot of young guys in the room.”

You could make the argument that Davis, 26, has outplayed all of them and he could be in line to start when the 49ers visit Seattle on Sept. 7 to begin the regular season.

Before that happens, the 49ers will hold a joint practice with the Raiders in Las Vegas on Thursday, a prelude to their second exhibition game at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday.

Since being drafted out of Central Florida in the sixth round in 2022, it’s been a career of fits, starts, and knee trouble for Davis.

Coming out of college as an inside linebacker, being converted to defensive end, and rehabbing an ACL tear, his first year was essentially a redshirt year. In 2023, a high ankle sprain landed Davis, having been moved inside to tackle, on injured reserve after three games.

Davis was having a solid camp a year ago before a knee injury — this one not as severe as the one in college — put him on injured reserve again. He was eventually activated off IR and played in 13 games, and has followed that up with an injury-free offseason with solid work in the 49ers’ conditioning program, OTAs, and minicamps.

“It’s kind of been one setback after the next for him,” defensive line coach Kris Kocurek said.

At 6-foot-1, 310 pounds, Davis started alongside West and had 19 impactful snaps with three tackles, including a quarterback sack, in a 30-9 loss to Denver.

“I’m a lot more comfortable this year,” Davis said. “I got experience last year playing in 13 games. That helped me a lot. I’m having a good camp right now, and that experience helped me a lot.”

Kocurek was encouraged by Davis a year ago before the knee injury in camp, and is even more excited about him now.

“The strength level that he’s playing with, the explosion through his hips and the heaviness in his hands to knock back contact has been really nice technically,” Kocurek said. “He’s playing with low pads, getting under people with leverage, and then he’s got twitch and ability in his lower body to find edges as a pass rusher.”

Davis realized in the offseason, when close friends and fellow defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins were released, that he would need to step up no matter what the 49ers did in the draft.

“Those are my guys,” Davis said. “When I saw that, I knew I was going to take a bigger step than I was initially going to take.”

Davis, although a pro since 2022, is still a neophyte at defensive tackle, given he’d never played the position until 2022.

“I’ve actually played more D-tackle in the NFL than I have the rest of my life,” Davis said. “It’s just being able to take the field and get the experience. Staying healthy is just huge for me.”

Davis has liked what he’s seen of the rookies on the defensive front.

“They look great, man,” Davis said. “Seabass (Valdez), out there, undrafted, doing his things. They’re three different types of players but we’ve all got to have an attack element. I see ’em getting better each and every day. Alfred missed OTAs, but he’s starting to put it together. It’s fun having a young room.”

KOCUREK TAKEAWAYS

Kocurek, the 49ers’ mercurial defensive line coach/guru, has liked what he’s seen of a retooled defensive front and the four rookies.

“It’s always fun with the young guys, they come in eager to learn, eager to impress,” Kocurek said. “Then you watch them on Day 10 and all this stuff is coming at them full speed and they think, `Can I do anything right?’ ”

Defensive tackle Kalia Davis speaks with the media Tuesday at the 49ers’ training facility. Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group

West’s body type (6-1) and Collins’ length suggest one being a nose and the 6-5 Collins as a three-technique, but Kocurek stressed all the linemen will be trained at different spots. Williams will play on the edge with the capability of moving inside to tackle in nickel defenses, with West, Collins, and Valdez each playing both over the nose and as a three-technique.

There was a collective gulp among coaches and trainers when Williams (hyperextended knee) went down in the joint practice with Denver.

“It looked bad on the field, but then we got news it wouldn’t be for an extended period,” Kocurek said. “Hopefully, we’ll get him back soon, and he can pick up where he left off.”

Kocurek said Nick Bosa, in his seventh season, has taken it upon himself to be a leader in the way DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead were when he broke in as the No. 2 overall pick out of Ohio State.

“Now he sees we’ve got some younger guys that are going to need to play and he’s done a really good job bringing them along,” Kocurek said.

TURNER ABOARD

The 49ers signed veteran wide receiver Malik Turner for additional depth in a thin area.

Turner played in three games with no receptions in 2022 for the 49ers and before that played two seasons in Seattle and two in Dallas. He has 29 career receptions for 414 yards and four touchdowns.

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Turner has been a practice squad player with Indianapolis, signed with the 49ers in 2024, only to be released with an injury settlement, and later was signed and released from the 49ers practice squad.

Most recently, Turner set a UFL record with 168 yards receiving and three touchdowns in the league championship game.

To make room, defensive end Bradley Anae was placed on the injured list.