Commanders Training Camp Stock Report: Who Needs to Pick Up The Pace?

Three guys who have done well, and three who need to pick it up in the next phase of training camp practices.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders are slowing things down Thursday after completing the first eight practices of training camp.

With Thursday's practice being an unpadded and abbreviated walkthrough session, we're going to pause our direct daily observations to issue some in-progress assessments of lesser-known players that have stood out.

STOCK DOWN

Let's start with the guys who need to pick up the pace and performances a bit in the coming days and weeks.

MARKEN MICHEL, WR

Michel was a receiver who flashed at times in the OTA and minicamp practices earlier this offseason and seemed to have a really good rapport with quarterback Taylor Heinicke.

In fact, anytime the two were on the field there was a chance Heinicke was going to target No. 19 on a deep route, and when he did it usually went pretty well.

Looking for Michel to make the most of his training camp opportunities, the same flashes just haven't been there.

It's not that he hasn't gotten open or won his matchups on occasion, but the ball isn't coming his way, and it's limited his ability to further standout in a very crowded receiver room.

CORN ELDER, CB

The veteran cornerback is another who did well earlier, making plays on a daily basis it seemed, who has now fallen back to earth a bit.

While he remains a presence around the ball whenever it comes to his side of the formation, this status is as much to do with how well the rest of the defense is doing around him.

Kendall Fuller, William Jackson III, Benjamin St-Juste, Christian Holmes and Danny Johnson currently hold spots as my favorites to make the initial 53-man roster.

Can Elder make the team carry seven? He'll need to get back to his previous form now that pads are on in order to force the issue.

ARMANI ROGERS, TE

It feels a little unfair to put an undrafted free agent on this list, and he's another example of a young player who hasn't exactly done poorly, but his competition has shown up so consistently he's starting to fall behind.

Logan Thomas is the clear starter once he's back to good health and John Bates has missed some practices this week but is also a solidified player when available.

Outside of those two, the third spot isn't going to anyone besides fifth-round rookie Cole Turner, which leaves one spot at the most available for another tight end, and even that may only last until Thomas is back.

Out of the three names (more on that in a minute) fighting for that theoretical spot, Rogers is at the bottom and it isn't necessarily close.

Hard to imagine he'll be able to make up the ground necessary to really get back into this fight, but he should still be a solid practice squad addition if nothing else.