Washington Commanders Training Camp Notebook: Day 1 Features Debut of 2nd Rd. Rookie

Washington Commanders rookie defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton made his debut on Wednesday.

Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton. / Instagram/@johnny_newton5

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders opened up their 2024 NFL Training Camp on Wednesday with no shortage of storylines worth following.

One of the offseason stories everyone has been following has been the unfortunate development that Commanders rookie defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton needed a foot procedure that took him out of rookie minicamp, OTAs, mandatory minicamp, and threatened his first training camp on top of it.

Washington got good news on that front Tuesday, however, and becuase of it our top story coming out of Day 1 at training camp is the debut of Johnny Newton.

READ MORE: Which Commanders Second-Round Pick 'Could Emerge' In NFL Preseason?

First look at Washington Commanders rookie DT Jer’Zhan ‘Johnny’ Newton getting some reps in at Training Camp. pic.twitter.com/N8OYW1yaXW

— David Harrison (@DHarrison82) July 24, 2024

NEWTON DEBUTS

Participating in individual drills only Newton looked confident on his feet as he finally got mixed in with his defensive line mates on Day 1 of training camp.

While the team as a whole is easing him into his roles in practice, holding him out of team periods on Wednesday, defensive line coach Darryl Tapp and his staff were just as energized coaching the rookie as they have been all offseason.

It was a good first step, and a big one, for a second round pick that is expected to compliment starters Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, and compete with the likes of Phidarian Mathis and John Ridgeway for priority snaps behind them.

JAYDEN AND MARIOTA ROTATING

It shouldn't come as a surprise given coach Dan Quinn's comments about not rushing to crown quarterback Jayden Daniels the team's starter but he and veteran Marcus Mariota rotated the first-team snaps on Day 1.

Even though the two rotated, it's important to note that Daniels got the second shot at running the first team in 11-on-11 team drills, completed all four of his pass attempts in the set, and threw a touchdown to running back Brian Robinson Jr.

PLAY OF THE DAY

In fact, that touchdown pass to Robinson from Daniels comes in as our play of the day for Day 1 of Commanders training camp.

While Mariota did have a nice completion to veteran tight end Zach Ertz in his run with the first team, the touchdown pass to Robinson comes in ahead because of the touch it required of Daniels and because it was a scoring play.

Many have questioned the ability for Daniels to operate in the more intermediate portions of the passing game, something that could be problematic in the red zone as the 'deep field' essentially disappears the closer the team gets.

If Wednesday's redzone drills are any indication - even an early one - Daniels looks comfortable, accurate, and on time throwing passes in the short part of the field.

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READ MORE: Washington Commanders Starting Training Camp Ahead of Schedule Says Coach Dan Quinn

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