The Washington Commanders wrapped their third practice of OTAs on Wednesday and the underlying theme of the first few sessions has been the introduction of newcomers.
From quarterback Carson Wentz, Jahan Dotson and the team’s other seven draft picks and offensive lineman Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner, the coaching staff has plenty of new faces to get acclimated to the playbook.
While intensity won’t rev up until training camp in late-July, there’s plenty of important takeaways to be drawn from organized team activities. Here are four that have caught our eye over the first three days.
4 biggest takeaways from Commanders OTAs so far
4. Youngsters Getting First-Team Reps
OTAs don’t always provide opportunity for rookies and second-year players to showcase their respective skillsets, but Washington’s giving off a different vibe. In a refreshing development, Darrick Forrest, the team’s fifth-round pick in 2021, was very active in drills and even got reps with the first team.
Commanders staff writer Zach Selby noted Forrest “performed well in coverage” and almost came down with an interception in 11-on-11 drills.
The Cincinnati product’s rookie year was hindered by injury and was reduced to a special teams role when he finally got activated in Week 9. With the Commanders short-handed at the safety position following Landon Collins’ departure, the door is open for Forrest to earn a spot in the secondary rotation.
Elsewhere, Cole Turner got extended looks with the first team. With Logan Thomas recovering from ACL surgery, the fifth-round tight end out of Nevada was the offense’s top pass-catcher at the position on Tuesday. All signs indicate Turner impressed with his imposing frame and wide catch radius. With no Thomas, the rookie could spend a lot of time with the starters this offseason.
3. No Joint Practices this Offseason
In late-March, Ron Rivera revealed the Commanders were discussing joint practices with other teams, referencing the preseason being reduced to three games as the main reason. It was a salient point made by the head coach, as starters hardly play in the preseason to begin with and joint practices are a great way to give the first-team more reps against other team’s projected starters.
Following Tuesday’s practice, though, Rivera disclosed the Commanders will only practice amongst themselves at training camp.
"“We really like where we are,” Rivera told reporters. “It’s a young team. A lot of guys that have played a lot of football for us already and added some good young players. So we just feel this is about us focusing on who we are.”"
Washington’s starters haven’t played much in the preseason under Rivera, so this development could cause concerns about potential rust to open the year. It’s partly why the first few weeks of the NFL season aren’t a great product. For such a violent game, it takes teams time to get back into the swing of things.
Another positive of joint practices? It allows players to match up against a different roster. Weeks and months of lining up versus the same players could get redundant and not particularly challenging, and it might be tough to keep the same level of motivation all summer.
Perhaps these plans will change, but as things stand, Washington’s first real live action against another team will come in the preseason opener vs the Panthers. From there, they’ll hit the road to play the Chiefs and Ravens.
2. Cole Holcomb Looks the Part
Much has been made about Washington’s lack of incentive to address the linebacker position; far and away the weakest personnel group on the roster. Amid all the uncertainty, Cole Holcomb has looked the part of a true signal-caller at OTAs.
Between leading the lines during individual drills, setting the pace during other drills (9-on-9s, 11-on-11s, etc.), Holcomb appears ready to assume the middle linebacker role for the Commanders. In fact, the third-year pro was given the elusive green dot, which suggests he’s now the quarterback of the defense.
Holcomb filled that role to an extent last season. Playing as an off-ball linebacker, though, he admitted it was difficult calling plays and making pre-snap adjustments from an outside position compared to the inside, where he can see everything and have a proper line of communication with his teammates.
Coming off a year in which he finished 10th in the NFL in tackles (142) and second in pass breakups (seven) amongst LBs who tallied at least 400 snaps, Holcomb is a safe bet to take another leap in 2022 even with more on his plate.
1. Carson Wentz Standing Out
That’s right, folks. The Commanders’ new QB1 has stuck out like a sore thumb in the early goings of OTAs. And it doesn’t all have to do with the fact that he’s 6-foot-5 and is wearing a gold jersey in a burgundy-dominated practice.
Wentz has already wowed his teammates with his arm talent. Holcomb referred to his right arm as a “cannon” after Tuesday’s practice, but the 29-year-old quarterback was precise and confident with his delivery. During the first 11-on-11 drill, Wentz’s passes were on-target. And even the ones that didn’t hit receivers in his chest were out of harms way from defenders and still allowed his wideouts to make a play.
Yes, Wentz was intercepted (by Corn Elder!) on an underneath route, but that’s bound to happen this early into the spring. All in all, it’s been a strong debut for Wentz, but something else that stood out was who drew the most targets with McLaurin “holding out” of OTAs amid contract negotiations.
Per reports, rookie Jahan Dotson and 2021 third-rounder Dyami Brown were the recipients of the bulk of Wentz’s dropbacks on Tuesday. We’re only three practices in, but this is definitely something to monitor with McLaurin unlikely to report to the team for at least the next few weeks, if not longer.