Lynnell Willingham joined Kevin Sheehan to offer his observations from practice at Washington Commanders minicamp, including how the quarterback competition between Jacoby Brissett and Sam Howell is going and how Eric Bieniemy's offense seems to be leaning heavily on tight ends.
While "it's only minicamp" and it is really hard to draw too many hard conclusions from a practice that does not involve contact in a game that is nothing but contact, Willingham said one thing that jumped out to him was "how involved these tight ends are going to be in this offense."
Going back to the first days of OTAs and minicamp, Willingham added, "Logan Thomas and Cole Turner have really received, it feels like, the lion's share of the targets.... being targeted early and often in this Commanders' offense. And it feels like Sam Howell is really starting to build a rapport with Logan Thomas, specifically."
"They have force-fed [Thomas] the football," he added. "Maybe Logan Thomas leads this team in receptions this year, that's how much he's been featured in the spring."
Willingham added that in his post-practice conversation with Thomas the entire team understands the new-found urgency and intensity they must play with under Bieniemy.
Thomas, who is coming back from an ACL injury and calf issues last season, "looks great... the eye test proves it all," Willingham added that there is a bounce in his step, but the tight end looks "spry."
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After practice on Thursday, Rivera called the tight end unit one that has "vastly improved."
"A lot of that has to do with the development of the young guys more so than anything else," the head coach said making reference to improvement from Turner, John Bates and Curtis Hodges and Thomas' return from injury.
Willingham added that the Commanders ran a lot of screen plays and quick passes with not many balls being thrown further than 30 yards down the field during Wednesday's practice.
But one thing that caught his eye was Brissett's arm and how he can really "sling the rock" and while first-team reps have not happened yet, they may be coming for the veteran passer.
In OTAs against air, Willingham added that the ball flies out of the hand of both Brissett and Howell with each QB hitting receivers "right in the numbers and giving them the opportunity to run after the catch." But on Wednesday, he observed Brissett have a series of throws where "you could just tell the arm strength is there."
"Not to say [Brissett] looks flawless, but there are clear reasons why this team wanted to bring him in," Willingham told Sheehan. "He is a true professional at the position, in every meaning of the [word]. The [veteran] gets them out of the huddle, leading guys, lining guys up, he's got an understanding of the offense already, and it just seems like they trust him."
Another aspect that should be noted: The defense looks lights out, Willingham added. Listen to the full conversation on the player above!
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