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Washington Football Team OTA Observations: Strong Start

A buggy Tuesday morning in Ashburn brought a ray of hope, normalcy and speed for the Washington Football Team

Chris Russell

ASHBURN  -- The Washington Football Team participated in their first full-team organized team activity in front of the media for the first time in two years at the Inova Sports Performance Center.

One can't tell how the season is going to turn out based off of one practice and certainly not one on May 25, but if looking for trends and some perspective, WashingtonSI has got you covered.

Here are our observations from Tuesday's workout … we

NOTE: Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Charles Leno Jr., and Steven Sims Jr. did not report to camp.

READ MORE: Great attendance at Voluntary OTA's

  • Safety Landon Collins participated in the team stretch and in some light individuals but did not take part at all in the team portions. He did take mental reps from the deep middle of the field as opposed to being on the sidelines and at least at one point, was seen instructing and helping some of his fellow safeties.
  • Cornerback Greg Stroman did not appear to be working during drills. Stroman was placed on the IR in October of last season. 
  • Tight end Logan Thomas missed a couple of portions but came back. He will be entering a contract year and is building off his best season, during which he recorded 72 catches for 670 yards and six touchdowns. 
  • A few drops were a small problem for the new faces. Rookie Dyami Brown had an easy catch down the sideline that he couldn’t make, as did project tight end Sammis Reyes on a pass from new QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. 
  • The starting offensive line, without the newly signed Leno Jr., featured a combination of Saahdiq Charles, Sam Cosmi and David Sharpe all working at left tackle. Charles, who played the position for the 2019 champion LSU Tigers, saw the most consistent reps with the first-team offense. 

READ MORE: Chase Young, Montez Sweat Miss Washington OTA Day; Coach Rivera Discusses

  • First-round pick Jamin Davis seemed to be working mostly at the MIKE linebacker spot even when incumbent Jon Bostic was paired alongside him. It looked like Bostic was lining up over the tight ends on the strong side when both took snaps. 
  • On at least one occasion, Davis was in at MIKE over Bostic, with the rest of the starting defense around him. WFT D.C. Jack Del Rio told WFT's Julie Donaldson that the Kentucky rookie will be taking snaps at all three linebacker roles for more of the 2021 season.
  • Fitzpatrick looked comfortable and in pretty good rhythm, dialing up a intermediate-to-deep back-shoulder fade to Cam Sims, who made a nice adjustment and tumbling catch. That was a throw that caught the attention of head coach Ron Rivera and others.
  • Fitzpatrick also connected with new weapon and former Panthers standout Curtis Samuel on a swing pass off of jet motion play. After his success with the Panthers in a similar style,expect to see this look often with Samuel under coordinator Scott Turner.

READ MORE: OTA Battles To Watch - Offense

  • Samuel also was part of a trick reverse around the left side. His speed and versatility was on display in a significant way.
  • Taylor Heinicke was the No. 2 QB on the day and had a fairly good practice. He did have a deep overthrow that would have been a "score" when on point, but he made up for it with a long deep-middle pass to Brown, who hauled it in after plucking it out of the air over safety Troy Apke.
  • Torry McIver, a cornerback looking for a roster spot, broke up a pass over the top of a receiver on a ball thrown by Heinicke. The ball bounced up in the air and rookie safety Darrick Foster picked it off. The defense, of course, loved it.
  • On another play, Heinicke rolled to his right only to find defensive end Daniel Wise bearing down on him and in his face. The former Old Dominion QB dropped his arm angle down and fired a pass to Isaiah Wright for a nice completion.
  • Wright also had a drop in the practice.
  • Kyle Allen also returned from his season-ending injury and looked fine in minimal snaps. He lofted a pass along the sidelines to Tony Brown for a completion, but it was contested thanks to the defense.
  • Project fourth-string QB Steven Montez looked like he struggled on a few reps and turned the ball over on a fumble during team drills.

CONTINUE READING: READ MORE: Battles To Watch - Defense

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Chris Russell
CHRIS RUSSELL

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