ASHBURN, Va. — Training camp stats mean next to nothing. Teams and players are trying out plays, personnel, formations and a host of other variables.
That’s especially true for quarterbacks. Why take a “sack” (there’s no actual contact) or even take off and run when you can try to see if a pass works or a pass-catcher can make it work? Furthermore, without pads on, it’s hard to tell what’s really going on in the trenches, and therefore hard to glean a ton of value from the running game. It’s a time in which the information gathered far, far outweighs the results produced.
Still, the Washington Commanders defenders and defensive coaches must have loved what transpired on Day 3.
On the very first play of 11-on-11 drills, Jayden Daniels stayed in the pocket and tried to rifle a ball to Zach Ertz over the middle. It was an accurate throw, and it nearly worked, Ertz stretching up for the ball. The only problem? Safety Quan Martin had closed quickly and knocked the ball away, and cornerback Mike Sainristil caught the deflection. Training camp interception No. 1 for Daniels.
Just a few plays later, safety Tyler Owens jumped a Marcus Mariota pass and nabbed yet another interception, a good sign for a team that had just seven interceptions last season, tied for fourth-fewest in the league. The defense was off and flying — Bobby Wagner picked off Daniels in seven-on-seven drills shortly thereafter — and it didn’t slow down much throughout the early-morning session in sweltering heat.
Here’s what else stood out ahead of the Commanders’ first off day of training camp:
Von Miller can still get after the quarterback
One day after saying he “can still roll out of bed at 36 years old with my shoes on and rush the passer,” Von Miller did just that. The team moved practice up from 9 a.m. to 8 a.m. to avoid the worst of the ballooning temperatures, and Miller impressed off the edge, working plenty with the first-team defense.
On the aforementioned Sainristil pick, Miller provided some pressure off the edge, helping keep Daniels pinned to the pocket. In a two-minute drill at the end of practice, a Frankie Luvu pressure off the edge forced Daniels to step up, and Miller was right there and may have had a sack.
Yes, it’s a pad-free practice without much meaningful contact, especially along the lines. No, Miller won’t be an All-Pro force like he was at his peak. He’ll rotate in for passing scenarios and in other spots at times. But so far, it looks like he has some juice.
On the other end of the age spectrum, rookie second-round cornerback Trey Amos continues to look the part, playing first-team outside cornerback opposite Marshon Lattimore, with Sainristil now in the slot.
Amos showed good patience and physicality throughout the session, matching up in press coverage and showing an ability to run and change direction well. Amos said he has especially focused on his press technique both during and outside practice, trying to make everything “second nature.”
“It’s just me vs. me, that dog mentality,” Amos said. “Just going hard everyday no matter who’s in front of me, just having that confidence, having that mindset that no one catches the ball on you, not being hard on yourself but just understanding that’s your job. You gotta do what you have to do.”
Amos is already well-traveled, having played three seasons at Louisiana, one at Alabama and one at Ole Miss. It was his time with the Rebels, in which he was a first-team All-SEC performer and earned some All-America honors, in which he put the NFL on notice. At the NFL Scouting Combine, he ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, and his stock continued to soar. He thanks his mentality for his steady rise.
“I went through those emotions early in my career in college,” Amos said of dealing with the good and bad moments. “I learned how to deal with it and just keep on getting better, keep saying ‘next play, next play,’ because the next play might be your one. So you just gotta be ready at all times.”
Amos also would have had an interception off Daniels in the end zone, but the play was called back for offsides.
Terry McLaurin next team odds: Will Commanders receiver be traded amid contract holdout?
Chinmay Vaidya
Improved defensive line, cornerback depth
While Miller and Amos stood out as individuals, it’s the improved defensive depth that shows why the Commanders think they can be much better than last year’s group (19th in success rate, 24th in expected points added).
Up front, Washington added Miller and Jacob Martin as pass rushers but also loaded up with big bodies in Javon Kinlaw, Eddie Goldman and Deatrich Wise Jr. in an effort to help fix a unit that ranked 30th in rushing yards allowed.
“We can get big and get to base; we have guys like Big Eddie and Kinlaw playing big end, or we can get to nickel and our pass rush package,” defensive tackle Daron Payne said. “You just have to be aware of who you are out there with. I feel like that’s just going to help us have diversity when it comes to just facing different teams.”
The cornerback room is also vastly improved, especially if Lattimore can stay healthy. The former Pro Bowler arrived in Washington halfway through last season with a hamstring injury that forced him to miss time and hampered him when he was playing. He had a pair of nice pass breakups, one on a deep shot to rookie Jaylin Lane and later in a red zone drill against Chris Moore.
The Commanders also signed Jonathan Jones and re-signed Noah Igbinoghene to shore up the depth, and the athletic Owens has been used all over. Jones and undrafted rookies Car’lin Vigers and Fentrell Cypress IIÂ all broke up passes.
Odds and ends: Don’t panic about the offense
Still without Terry McLaurin, the offense was far from its best and often on the wrong end of things. Again, though, these are unpadded training camp practices. The offensive line — arguably the most-improved unit on the team with All-Pro tackle Laremy Tunsil and first-round pick Josh Conerly Jr. — can’t really show off that improvement in these settings. Don’t panic.
Here are more notes:
- In a red zone drill, Brian Robinson Jr. capped the first-team offense’s best drive of the day with a fourth-and-1 touchdown run.
- Deebo Samuel, Noah Brown and Chris Moore are getting the most run as first-team wide receivers. Luke McCaffrey and Michael Gallup are also rotating in, and McCaffrey had a pair of nice catches with the 1s, including one in which he out-fought Amos for the ball.
- Mariota found Gallup for a solid gain over the middle in seven-on-seven.
- Andrew Wylie got first-team reps at right tackle, though he and Conerly have rotated there.
- Mariota found Tyree Jackson for a touchdown. Jackson, a hulking 6-foot-7, 249-pound quarterback-turned-tight-end, made a nice adjustment on a ball slightly behind him.
- Mariota also delivered a good throw to Ben Sinnott in the end zone, and Sinnott made a nice sliding grab for the score.
The Commanders return to practice Sunday, with fans in the stands for the first time.
