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Practice Notes 8/18: Washington Holds Its First Padded Practice Of Training Camp 

Elijah Walter Griffin Sr./Washington Football Team
Elijah Walter Griffin Sr./Washington Football Team

The Washington Football team held its first fully-padded practice of training camp Tuesday morning.

Head coach Ron Rivera saw some things he liked and some he didn't during the 90-minute session. Afterwards, Rivera could be heard talking to his players about attention to detail and tempo -- two principles he's preached throughout the offseason. Look for both of those aspects to improve as the padded practices progress.

Here's what we learned from Tuesday's practice:

OFFENSE:

-- Dwayne Haskins Jr. received the first-team reps in each session and made some "really good" decisions, according to Rivera. Haskins also looked comfortable operating in a new offense.

Aside from one overthrow over the middle, Haskins was mostly on time and on target with his throws. Perhaps his best pass of the day was to Terry McLaurin on a comeback route near the left sideline, when Haskins released the ball before McLaurin even turned around. Haskins also showed good rapport with Steven Sims Jr. after the two worked out at times this offseason.

-- Alex Smith received second-team reps during 7-on-7 periods but did not participate in full team drills as he continues his remarkable comeback. When Smith was out there, his footwork seemed clean and his passes were crisp and accurate. During 1-on-1 drills, Smith connected with Darvin Kidsy deep down the left sideline in tight coverage. Kyle Allen was third in the rotation to start practice but worked with the second group during team drills.

-- The starting wide receivers during team drills were McLaurin, Sims and Dontrelle Inman with Logan Thomas at tight end and Adrian Peterson in the backfield. Wes Martin started at left guard while Geron Christian Sr. started at left tackle. However, Rivera said after practice to not read too much into who is starting on the left side of the offensive line. "Very few positions are set in our mind right now."

-- Rookie tackle Saahdiq Charles missed practice Tuesday with a minor injury, Rivera said.

DEFENSE:

-- Rivera said he was "very pleased" with what he saw from Montez Sweat and Chase Young. Rivera also likes what he has seen from Ryan Kerrigan as he transitions to putting his hand on the ground all the time. The first-team defensive line consisted of Kerrigan, Sweat, Matt Ioannidis and Jonathan Allen with Young, Daron Payne and Tim Settle rotating in. Ioannidis and Payne both batted down passes at the line of scrimmage while Sweat broke up a screen play. Both Sweat and Young excelled in their 1-on-1 matchups.

-- Washington began the 11-on-11 sessions in its nickel defense with Jon Bostic and Kevin Pierre-Louis as the starting linebackers. Rivera highlighted Pierre-Louis during an interview with Kevin Sheehan last week, saying that he has been "as advertised" in terms of his explosiveness and being around the ball to make plays. Still, do not expect the starting linebackers to be the same throughout training camp. "You're definitely going to see a different group of linebackers, that's for sure," Rivera said.

-- The starting cornerbacks in the nickel defense were Jimmy Moreland and Ronald Darby on the outside and Kendall Fuller in the slot. Darby broke up two passes during the session, including against McLaurin on a throw from Haskins during team drills.

-- The starting safeties were Landon Collins (strong) and Troy Apke (free). Rivera praised Apke for his athleticism, intelligence and "sharp movements" on the field and also emphasized trying to find the right combination of players, so the rotation could change as training camp progresses. Collins said he has been paired with Apke, Sean Davis and Deshazor Everett during training camp.

-- Defensive end Ryan Anderson missed practice Tuesday because of a "minor issue," Rivera said. Anderson worked off to the side.

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