Day 1 in pads usually shows the defense. Especially since they are the ones looking for pads the most. They are tired of exercising against air. They want to shoot. Day 2, which was today, felt the misunderstanding a little more comfortable with her work in pads.
It was difficult to know exactly where to look for exceptional performances among the recipients in Tuesday’s practice. It was one nice catch after another. Although, it started with a drip.
One of the first passes of the day, rookie Henry Ruggs III went up the left sideline, and got a step on his defender. It was seven-on-seven, so Derek Carr just had to measure Ruggs’ speed and put it where it needed to be. It was there, Ruggs sitting down there, and what should have been an in-the-shoulder grip in-stride for a long touchdown, went straight through the young speedster’s arms unfinished.
Ruggs will be fine. It happens. He does not lose his place as the number one receiver of the team at any given moment. This day seemed to be about all the guys fighting for reps behind him.
One man who has so far not received much mention in camp is Zay Jones. He looked pretty good on Tuesday. He pulled a deep out of Carr along the right, then another long of Marcus Mariota with cover of Trayvon Mullen, followed by a fifty one-handed snag in-stride on a short pass. Without a doubt, he now feels much more comfortable in this offense than he was when the Raiders got him into the trade last week.
With roster spots up against a premium, Jones’ primary competition as newcomer would be Nelson Agholor. Not too outdated, Agholor had the catch of the day.
The former top pick went deep the left sideline with Amik Robertson in cover. Mariota put the ball in the air and Agholor made a brilliant dive.
Good thing too, because two other times balls that threw his way were well defended. First, Dylan Mabin saw the ball bounce down the field. Later, Lamarcus Joyner played a pass perfectly from Nathan Peterman for Agholor and almost intercepted it. A pass he had to damn had chosen and he kicked himself for it.
Earlier in the day, Joyner was beaten by Hunter Renfrow on a fast slope for a good chunk of yardage after catching. Renfrow was also not done, and defeated Isaiah Johnson on a cross for a first down on a pass from Carr.
Renfrow notices after practicing fighting at his position that you just did not see much last year when they were just trying to find viable starters.
“The competitiveness with Nelson Agholor coming in and Zay Jones. It was just one of the more fun camps so far for me, ‘Renfrow said. ‘You do not go out and look at the clock and ask yourself if the exercise will be over, you compete every day. The past period is just trying to survive you … Nelly is going to go out and make a great play, and Henry is going to, and then Bryan, and Marcell Ateman, and all these guys are making great plays and you’re just excited to go a part of it . From that point of view, it’s been a lot of fun and those rookies have started it up. ”
Renfrow talks more about those rookies, which you can read here. But it is third-round pick Bryan Edwards who throws in wonderful catches every day.
Today, it was Carr’s perfect throw that required the perfect catch, as Prince Amukamara was in tight coverage on Edwards. It was a cross from left to right and Carr set the ball high and in front of Edwards. Amukamara deviled and writhed over Edwards’ face, but Edwards caught it just past Amukamara’s fingertips. Enormous Edwards Concentration Flu. Then he also got some good yard after catching.
“He reinforces the ball strongly and throws the corner away from him and it would have been a 40 or 50 yard play just because he’s that strong,” Carr said of an Edwards catch Tuesday. ‘And with other guys, it’s usually catching, while he’s catching it, he can throw people, he can make plays this way. That he is not a 4.2 man, but does not let the violence of his routes let him down and how strongly he plays you crazy. “
There was, again, a lot going on in blocking drills. The first big ‘ooh’ came when Erik Harris came on the blitz and rookie Lynn Bowden was up to pick him up. Harris rode right through Bowden’s chest and put himself on his back. Bowden has a way of going about his new running duties.
After a good looking first day in pads, Ferrell showed off some of his technical skills, with a swim up the middle to get into the backfield. Unfortunately, he could not get the front of Kolton Miller again. Then again, no one else has, so there you go.
Arden Key has been practicing with a cast on his right hand. He came off the edge and rode down the line to complete a run without a win. The Raiders need to see much more of that from him.
After returning Monday from his quarantine from COVID-19, Rod Smith rode back and hit the practice field with his teammates. He even had a highlight. He was on the sidelines when Derek Carr threw a pass out of that direction that sailed outside boundaries. Smith backed a bit and snagged the pass from the air with one hand. Didn’t even touch the ball with his left hand. Welcome back, Rod.
With Smith’s return, the team had to make a roster move. Not on practice today was cornerback Ken Crawley and that’s because he was the corresponding awaited player.
Also not practicing were tackles Trent Brown, guard Denzelle Good, and wide receiver Keelan Doss. No reasons have been given for her absence.
CB Nick Nelson is still on the PUP and TE Nick O’Leary is still on NFI.
Raiders have the day off Wednesday and they are back Thursday.
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