The Washington Commanders’ second round of OTAs are underway in Ashburn and quarterback Carson Wentz and rookie receiver Jahan Dotson continue to steal the show with their undeniable chemistry during team drills.
The morale in practice has been high following the returns of Chase Young and Montez Sweat, who missed the first round of OTAs. Young was continuing his ACL rehab in Colorado, while Sweat had an excused absence, per Ron Rivera.
Of course, organized team activities aren’t about star players. While superstars missing the voluntary practice sessions — including some high-profile QBs — often draw more attention than what’s actually taking place on the practice field, we’re here to shed light on some of the Commanders’ surprise standout performers.
Here are three who’ve shined at the second round of OTAs.
3 surprise standouts from Commanders OTAs thus far
3. Cole Turner
Turner might be the most impressive performer on this list, but it’s not overly surprising he’s making a strong impression at OTAs. With organized team activities containing very little intensity, rookies and undrafted free agents have the opportunity to showcase their raw skillsets without knowing much of the playbook.
Turner, a fifth-round pick out of Nevada this year, has done just that. At 6-foot-6 with a massive catch radius, the rookie tight end has the potential to both stretch the field and become a viable threat in the red zone for the Commanders.
In the early stages of OTAs, Turner has made a wide variety of passes. We all know Carson Wentz has preferred throwing to bigger targets in his career. Alshon Jeffrey (6-foot-3), Zach Ertz (6-5). Dallas Goedert (6-5) and Michael Pittman (6-4) were some of Wentz’s favorite targets during his time with the Eagles and Colts.
With that in mind, it’s understandable why the Commanders are so bullish on what Turner can bring to the offense. With the receiving corps being smaller than most, Turner has a chance to become a real weapon for Wentz and the fifth-round TE has been all the rage at OTAs over the first handful of practices.
2. Alex Erickson
The Commanders signing Erickson flew under the radar, but it happened and the veteran receiver/return specialist stood out on Wednesday. Per Ben Standig of The Athletic, Erickson “shined” a pass-catcher during team drills, making several grabs while working with the second- and third-team offense.
This might not seem like a big deal, but Erickson and Dax Milne are the primary candidates to fulfill a reserve WR role and return specialist. We haven’t heard much from Milne at OTAs in the early goings. That’s subject to change, obviously, but Erickson likely has a leg up on the second-year receiver right now.
If everything goes according to plan, Erickson could assume an Adam Humphries-like role for Washington in 2022, with perhaps less of a role in the passing game, as Humphries caught 41 passes in 2021 and Erickson’s career-high for a season is 43.
With that said, Erickson brings vast experience as a return man, averaging 26.3 punt returns over his six seasons with an 8.1 return average. He’s only managed nine kick returns across the last three seasons, but totaled 101 over his first three seasons and led the NFL in yardage as a rookie with 810 yards.
If Erickson keeps this up throughout the summer he’ll put a stranglehold on one of the final receiver spots and be a lock to return punts/kicks.
1. Darrick Forrest
Darrick Forrest endured what was essentially a redshirt year as a rookie. He injured his hamstring in Washington’s second preseason game and didn’t return to action until after the Week 9 bye against the Buccaneers.
By that point, the defense had just started turning the corner and there was hardly any reps to go around so Forrest was restricted to a special teams role. All in all, the 2021 fifth-round pick out of Cincinnati played 169 special teams snaps compared to just 26 defensive snaps, 20 of which came in the Week 18 finale.
With several roles on the defense unsettled — backup or otherwise — Forrest recognizes the importance of OTAs and has taken it upon himself to set the tone in practice. On Wednesday, he laid a monster hit on Kelvin Harmon on a jump ball in the end zone. Reporters were surprised a scrap didn’t ensue given players aren’t wearing pads and there’s minimal contact allowed, but nothing came of it.
If the play was enough to get team reporters talking, it definitely caught the eye of the coaching staff. They’ll probably tell Forrest to ease up on the next jump ball, but the fact he’s making noise is a surprising, yet encouraging sign.