The regular season is still a few weeks away, but we've reached the home stretch for a large number of players.
Cutdown day is less than a week away. Some players who made a big first impression have seen their stocks decline, while others who had a slow start are charging and making themselves as hard to cut as possible.
"There's a lot of guys that are out here competing and trying to make the roster," head coach Dennis Allen said, "and we have to take all those things into consideration when we get to our final 53."
In today's observations we'll change it up a bit and highlight some of those players.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
There were no major additions to the injured list, but there was one big return to highlight in Rashid Shaheed, who was spotted at practice for the first time since he left with a groin injury on Aug. 6. He didn't participate in team drills, which is the norm for players ramping back up.
Here are the players not seen in any capacity:
- TE Taysom Hill (oblique)
- WR Tre'Quan Smith (groin)
- RB Kirk Merritt (undisclosed)
- RB Darrel Williams (groin)
- LB Ryan Connelly (knee)
- OT Landon Young (knee)
- G Calvin Throckmorton (ribs)
- WR Lynn Bowden Jr. (groin)
Marshon Lattimore continued to practice in limited capacity, and Allen indicated the team was simply playing it safe. Demario Davis, meanwhile, continues to get a full workload and appears to be over the calf injury that kept him out for an extended period.
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MIKE THOMAS SPEEDS UP
Before getting to the fringe of the roster, let's start at the top: There's been a lot of talk about where Mike Thomas is at and what you can expect out of him, and Thursday's practice showed positively in that regard.
He started early, catching the first two balls in 7s from Derek Carr. He caught four other balls in full team while looking explosive and aggressive. MT's coach agrees.
"I thought Mike looked good and I think Mike's looked better and better each time he's come out here," Allen said. "I think he's probably getting more comfortable with where he's at, and I think we kind of knew at some point we'd start seeing what we kind of expect out of him, and I think we're seeing that more and more every day he's out here."
As long as MT is healthy, I expect a significant impact.
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ROOKIE DB SURGING
Before Wednesday's practice I had made the note that after a really impressive start to camp, UDFA cornerback Anthony Johnson had seemed to fall off the radar a bit. He had a lowlight late in the win over the Chargers that allowed a conversion on 4th and forever, and it seemed like his confidence might be shaken.
Well, that's changed over the last two days. He's taken down an interception in both practices, one in 1V1 and another in 11-on-11 drills and has gotten back to the physical, attacking play that had the former Virginia Cavalier catching my eye. This roster will be really tough to make for young DBs, but he's shown more than well enough to be a priority on the practice squad with a chance to be called up during the season.
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BIG-BOY WRS
Shaq Davis, other than being as big as advertised, didn't impress me much early in his first NFL camp. He looked like he was thinking too much and I wasn't sure he adjusted to the speed particularly well. The way his head coach phrased it was that he "didn't know whether the ball was pumped or stuffed" when he first got on the field with the Saints out of S.C. State.
As I've tried to make clear in these columns before, that's not me hating on a young player, it's being realistic about where he was so we can have an honest conversation about how far he's come at the end of camp. And I'm happy to say, he's come a very long way. He's got a particularly solid connection with Jameis Winston, and we've seen Shaq make big plays downfield with more and more regularity. As his head coach also points out, that's a product of hard work. He made one particularly nice play today on the goal line in red zone drills, working under Troy Pride and hauling in a low ball from Jake Haener for the score. He was the leading receiver in Week 2 of the preseason, and his contested catch ability is real.
In a vacuum, he's done enough to make an NFL roster. The problem I see is there's probably only one spot to be had for a big-bodied WR on the 53, and during the same span we've seen A.T. Perry take similar strides. The former Wake Forest standout has the built in advantage of being a draft pick, and I think that's going to sway things in his favor. This reminds me of when you had both Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Juwan Johnson back in the 2020 season. The team liked both and both got their opportunities.
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RB QUESTIONS
One of the few positions I'm having a hard time gauging is running back, particularly where the numbers stand. Without Kamara Weeks 1-3, is a tandem of Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller good enough? I'm guessing you'll want to keep a third option (though Taysom Hill is a factor in this discussion). That said, are you comfortable with a rookie backing up a rookie? If so, I think Ellis Merriweather has done enough to earn himself a roster spot. He's a big, strong back who has shown he can catch. I haven't seen him miss yet in pass-pro. I still think a veteran like Darrel Williams would be preferred, but it's hard not to like what Ellis brings to the table.
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ALONTAE INT
I still see Paulson Adebo as the winner of the CB2 battle, but Alontae Taylor's speed always impresses me. That's what he showed on an interception of Derek Carr late in today's practice, but what stood out was his return. He'll be a starter before long, and even in spot duty I have a feeling he's going to have a long return for a score at some point in the near future.
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