2 pleasant surprises from Week 1 of Commanders training camp

The Washington Commanders concluded their first week of training camp on Saturday. Several veterans were given rest days, including defenders Jonathan Allen and Montez Sweat and offensive lineman Andrew Norwell and Charles Leno.

With players expected to be in pads Monday, it’s totally understandable why the coaching staff gave these players an extra day off. Not to mention, they’re all established players and don’t necessarily need to play every snap of camp.

Of course, their absences paved the way for younger players to get more reps. The good news is nearly every inexperienced player on the Commanders’ roster had their moments in Week 1. Taking that into account, why don’t we highlight a pair of pleasant surprises over the first four practices, shall we?

2 pleasant surprises from Week 1 of Commanders training camp

Dyami Brown

Brown came into the NFL with high expectations after he terrorized ACC defenders over his final two seasons in Chapel Hill but the former Tar Heel compiled just 12 catches for 165 yards without a touchdown in 15 games as a rookie.

With the Commanders’ basically adding two receivers in Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel, Brown could ill afford an underwhelming camp. To his credit, the second-year wideout brought his A-game to Ashburn in the first week.

In fact, Brown delivered maybe the highlight of Week 1 Thursday when he made an acrobatic catch over Kendall Fuller on a deep pass that looked like a surefire interception. The ball was slightly underthrown and Brown impressively wrestled the ball away from the 29-year-old in the air to come up with the catch.

One of college football’s premier deep threats at North Carolina, these are the kind of plays fans expected when Brown was drafted. The 22-year-old added a touchdown and another eye-opening catch near the sidelines Saturday.

Talk about a sight for sore eyes, right?

Curtis Hodges

Hodges has largely worked with Taylor Heinicke and the second-team offense, but the Arizona State product will take any reps possible after going undrafted. With Logan Thomas on the PUP list and John Bates nursing his own injury, Hodges — like fellow rookie TE Cole Turner — turned heads in Week 1 of camp.

On Saturday, Hodges hauled in a pair of touchdowns during red zone drills, one of which came on an impressive grab in between two defenders. A monstrous 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds, it doesn’t look like many defenders (if any) can match up with the former Sun Devil physically and he’s taken full advantage.

How much has Hodges balled out thus far? Enough for him to get some praise from Ron Rivera after Saturday’s practice for his coachability.

It’s only been four practices, but Hodges is far and away the undrafted free agent with the best chance to make the 53-man roster.