Defense Stands Out in Commanders First Padded Training Camp Practice

Monday marked the first padded practice of training camp for the Washington Commanders as head coach Dan Quinn shared updates ahead of practices before a handful of players stuck out.

On a warm Monday morning where projected light rain held off, the Commanders engaged in heated action between the offense and defense. As we know, excitement is in the air when the players get to put on the pads for the first time and get a few licks in on their teammates. They are football players, after all, and have been yearning for some real contact since January.

Today, the defense stood out, and it was clear that Daronte Jones is going to dial up some exotic looks, especially in the front seven. On many occasions, the pass rush made light work of Washington’s offensive line and forced the QBs to hold on to the ball or dismiss the play altogether.

It was fun to get out there and see some live action. Here is everything you need to know:

David Blough’s hands-on energy: Offensive Coordinator David Blough is an active, hands-on coach. Throughout practice, you could see him engaged in drills, dropping back into coverage, or pulling a player aside to talk one-on-one. To begin practice, the WRs engaged in light pass-and-catch drills. Blough used what looked like a padded pole to punch at the ball and try to provoke a fumble. He seems like a guy with real attention to detail.

Red Zone reps: Early in practice, the team engaged in Red Zone drills—offense versus defense. Blough cycled through quarterbacks, allowing Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota, Sam Hartman, and Athan Kaliakmanis to all get reps. On the second play, Mariota threw a touchdown pass to RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who ran a crisp swing route to the right side. I came away thinking that the RBs and Tight Ends will be used quite a bit out of the backfield in short passing situations.

Daniels’ zip and touch: Daniels is still accurate and looks the part. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Daniels live, but he was impressive with his velocity and zip on the ball today. He seems to zip the ball effortlessly with speed. However, his touch was just as impressive. On the third play of Red Zone work, he threw a rainbow to Terry McLaurin in the back corner of the end zone. Two feet in. Touchdown.

Defense wins Day 1: If I were to declare a winner today, I would give it to the defense. On many occasions, they penetrated the gaps and took away any potential for positive yardage on runs. In this same Red Zone series, Javon Kinlaw broke through the line and “sacked” Daniels. The defense provided sticky coverage, and while Daniels tried to buy time, it was to no avail.

Sonny Styles stepping up: After the Red Zone series, the Commanders ran some drills from around the 30-yard line. Again, the defense looked strong. LB Sonny Styles broke through the line and wrapped up Croskey-Merritt for no gain. Next play? Styles comes in on a delayed blitz for a would-be sack of Daniels. Styles looked the part of a first-round standout today.

Personnel wrinkles: The offense will provide fans (and opposing defenses) a lot of eye candy with pre-snap motion. The Commanders ran a lot of 12-personnel sets today and moved both tight ends in pre-snap motion. It’s an interesting wrinkle that wasn’t present last year. On defense, I was surprised to see Frankie Luvu at the Mike position. He spent a good amount of time there, which allowed other LBs, including Styles, to blitz off the edge.

Odafe Oweh off the edge: Odafe Oweh is as advertised. He’s dressed in number 98, but he has a completely different game than Brian Orakpo. He’s slender and quick. On a few occasions today, he generated pressure off a quick first step. If he continues this, he should be a consistent disruptive force.

Secondary standouts: CB Mikey Sainristil had a good day. In this same series, Sainristil came off a corner blitz and disrupted a would-be screen to Sinnott, forcing Daniels to throw the ball away and move on to the next play. Later in the day, Sainristil had back-to-back PBUs in the end zone by squeezing the WRs to the back pylon and closing the window with a quick break on the ball.

Play of the Day: On one slick play, the defense provided tight coverage and Daniels had to scramble to his right. He threw a low dart to the back of the end zone where only Chig Okonkwo could catch it. The former Terrapin did in fact scoop the ball for a 25-yard score right off the turf. If this were a game, fans would have gone nuts.

Trick plays in the playbook: Trick plays will be a part of this offense. Antonio Williams was featured in a WR trick play where he caught a ball behind the line of scrimmage and was asked to pass the ball downfield. It didn’t work out, but Blough clearly has some aces up his sleeve.

Trench battles: 1-on-1 Offensive Lineman and Defensive Lineman drills were fun to watch. I especially liked the Sam Cosmi/Kinlaw match-ups. Both players went to war, with each holding his own.

Roster sleepers: Colson Yankoff was impressive. He was active and making plays, including scoring touchdowns. So was Jaylin Lane. I think Yankoff finds his way onto this team somehow.

Kicking competition: Both Jake Moody (5/5) and Drew Stevens (5/5) were perfect on their attempts, which ranged from 33 to 58 yards. Moody looked good and impressed me, but Stevens clearly has a little more leg power.

Sinnott’s versatile role: Sinnott will be used creatively this season. Today, we saw him as an H-Back and a true fullback in I-formation. I can see why he is excited for a fresh start under Blough. Long after practice wrapped up, Sam Hartman stayed on the field to throw extra routes to Sinnott, Ryan Cracraft, and others.

Ultimately, it was a good first day of pads in practice. The defense looks the part, Daniels looked sharp, and the offense seems creative. It will be fun to see how the team develops with more reps in the coming weeks.

Injury Updates

Head coach Dan Quinn said that the Commanders will be able to get a "good assessment on both cornerback and punter Tress Way on Thursday to assess whether they will be available to return. Way was placed on the active/ physically unable to perform list ahead of training camp after suffering a pectoral injury. Amos was one of three players to be placed on the PUP list ahead of training camp.

The Commanders also kicked off the day by announcing that linebacker Kain Medrano, who was ruled inactive on the same day as Way, has passed his physical and has been removed from PUP.