Key takeaways from Commanders’ first training camp practice with pads

The Washington Commanders second week of training camp has ramped up this week in Ashburn as pads have been added to practice. The glorious sound of tackling doesn’t go unnoticed, but neither does a lot of positives and negatives from practice on Tuesday. With the absence of key players on both sides of the ball, a lot of opportunities are present to make an impression.

Who Stood Out

–Cole Turner: Cole has been a hot name ever since rookie mini-camp with his flashes in the recieving game. Turner is a piece that has been missing in the Commanders’ Air Coryell offense that likes to go vertical with tight ends, especially in the absence of Logan Thomas. Cole only had one dropped pass, and one controversial catch that got both sides fired up about it being complete or not.

-Curtis Hodges: The undrafted free agent tight end that stands 6’8″, might be making a lasting impression to make a roster spot, or at least the practice squad. Whether the pass is on target, or slightly high, Hodges had no trouble plucking receptions out of the air.

–Jahan Dotson: The first-round pick doesn’t need much evidence that he was impressive at practice, but he shows something that gets fans excited every day. He makes route running look easy, and his hands are as reliable as they come. On Tuesday, he added his IQ in the mix with doing a great job on back to back plays by mixing up his technique to sit in the open zone without the DBs knowing where he was going next.

O-Line and Running Game: Every running back on the roster had success running the ball behind a stout offensive line on Tuesday, and had a big gain on the day. The starting offensive line for most of practice was: Sam Cosmi at right tackle, Saahdiq Charles at right guard, Wes Schweitzer at center, Andrew Norwell at left guard, and Charles Leno Jr at left tackle. The Commanders have a lot of pieces that can move around, and depth on the whole line this season.

Who Fills the Chase Young Void?

Montez Sweat needs a running mate on the opposite side of the line, and James Smith-Williams seems to be the starter. Unfortunately, Smith-Williams wasn’t at practice due to a hip injury, so we saw a good dose of Casey Toohill on the end who actually showed some promise. Shaka Toney was another guy who rotated in and got pressure on the QB a couple times, including a play that made Heinicke roll out left and throw the ball away. Rivera said they are keeping an eye on James Smith-Williams’ hip injury, and give updates in the meantime.

Will the Commanders Sign a LB?

Coach Rivera said after practice Tuesday that he has been impressed with the progression by Jamin Davis entering his second year. I ran into Jamin at the Austin airport at the beginning of July, and he mentioned the offseason work he put in with Landon Collins in Austin, Texas. Before camp, Rivera mentioned they would keep an eye on the LBs in camp before adding any signings to the position. In practice we have seen a lot of what we saw last year with two LBs on the field (especially in the BIG formations using extra DBs) being Cole Holcomb, and Jamin Davis with Khaleke Hudson rotating in. I could see Ron letting the young LB room continue to grow, and sync together with David Mayo being a depth piece.

Any Concerns From Training Camp?

The only concern in training camp seems to be Curtis Samuel’s lack of practice. Curtis once again was on the side field for the day, but Ron Rivera mentioned that it is part of their plan. Samuel missed a majority of last season, so it should be expected that he needs to slowly ramp into full football conditioning. There seems to be more concern from the media and fans than there is from the coaching staff. The preseason games will tell a lot more on how ready Curtis Samuel is.

The Commanders will continue training camp, and have an open practice at FedEx Field on Aug. 6, followed by the lone home preseason game vs the Panthers on Aug. 13 at 1:00pm ET.