Honor Roll: Five standouts from Raiders’ 1st week of practices

By Case Keefer (contact)

Tuesday, July 26, 2022 | 2 a.m.

The Las Vegas Raiders have wrapped up their first week of training camp practices at their team headquarters as Monday was scheduled as an off day for the players.

Pads come on for the first time Wednesday, a moment the team has slowly but steadily been working toward under new coach Josh McDaniels. They were on the field for five consecutive days, but conditioning was the lone objective on Wednesday’s full-team report date while basic drills strictly among position groups took precedence Thursday and Friday.

It wasn’t until a pair of weekend practices that Las Vegas ran what McDaniels calls “competitive periods,” where the offense and defense faced off against each other.

“You can see that they’re trying to use the techniques and fundamentals that we’re teaching, and really, there’s not many good plays in football that happen without good communication and fundamentals,” McDaniels said. “That’s really a huge focus for us right now while the physical part is on hold for a few more days.”

Physicality could change the whole outlook of the roster as McDaniels has continually suggested, but that doesn’t mean some players haven’t already stood out before the pads come on.

Here are five players who have turned heads early in training camp, drawing heavily from performance in the aforementioned offense vs. defense portions of practices.

The Sure Thing: Tight end Darren Waller

There’s been a lot of speculation on how the Raiders’ target share will play out with No. 1 receiver Davante Adams joining the team to form a triumvirate with Waller and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow.

It’s still too early to tell definitively, but from an anecdotal and unofficial count so far, Waller has seen the most footballs thrown his way. And they’ve come all over the field, from in traffic over the middle to verticals down the seams.

Adams made the longest catch Sunday to receive the loudest cheer from the set of invited fans, but he followed it up with an uncharacteristic drop, his first of training camp. Waller has made no such mistakes, and credits Adams' influence for his laser-sharp focus.

“Even when guys may not have it a certain day, it's like you see that guy lined up next to you, across from you, somebody like 'Tae, I'm like, 'I'm coming with it,’” Waller said. “I'm not going have 'Tae out here feeling like he's by himself. So, it's really a positive impact on me. He's helped me just want to raise my game to another level, and help our team do the same thing.”

The High-Upside Play: Wide receiver Tyron Johnson

The Raiders’ receiving corps needs a deep threat to emerge. It’s starting to look more likely that it could be the former undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State who came into camp on the fringes of the roster.

Johnson’s speed has always stood out, but the rest of the 26-year-old’s game is coming around, perhaps in no small part due to the way he’s clicked with Adams. Johnson has the locker next to Adams and has impressed the veteran receiver with his work ethic.

The two initially struck up a bond when Johnson willingly gave up the No. 17 jersey he wore at the end of last season as a kick returner for the Raiders so Adams could have it. Johnson is wearing No. 1 this season, and has been hard to miss as he’s consistently made plays.

“He’s now becoming dependable from day to day, and that’s a big word for us,” McDaniels said. “There’s a lot of trust that goes into the passing game, and he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to do his thing.”

The Insurgent Up Front: Right guard Lester Cotton

Before minicamp in June, no one would have placed the undrafted free agent out of Alabama in 2019 as part of the projected starting offensive line.

Now he’s got to be in there. Almost all the other spots rotate constantly, but Cotton and Miller have been in almost every snap. Cotton appeared to be in competition with Denzelle Good for the starting right guard spot, but the latter retired Monday after attempting to come back from an ACL tear suffered last season.

Luckily for Raiders’ fans, Cotton appears ready for the promotion to a starting spot. Cotton fires off the ball a tad quicker and gets into lower pad level than most of his peers.

McDaniels talked around the question when asked about Cotton specifically, as he’s continually tried not to commit to any specific offensive line combinations.

“The big part of this evaluation for us up front on both sides of the ball starts to take shape on Wednesday and continue through training camp,” McDaniels said. “We’ll have our opportunities with pads.”

It just now appears that someone else will have to take the opportunity to pry the job away from Cotton, instead of the other way around.

The Ascending Veteran: Safety Duron Harmon

Incumbent strong safety Johnathan Abram limped out of practice Sunday after an early collision with fellow safety Roderic Teamer and did not return.

The Raiders, of course, hope the injury is minor, but losing Abram for any period of time would have been a much bigger cause for concern in past years. This season, they should be able to move forward relatively unscathed with a 10-year veteran like Harmon.

Harmon and Abram had been splitting first-team repetitions anyway, with the former having made a big impression on his teammates. He’s constantly tried to coach up the young defensive backs at practice and serve as a mentor in the locker room.    

A three-time Super Bowl champion, Harmon’s message is being received, as players all the way from tight end Foster Moreau to cornerback Rock Ya-Sin have spoken highly of him.

“That’s my personality,” Harmon said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be around some tremendous leaders. Obviously, Tom Brady, Matthew Slater, Devin McCourty and just watching them as I grew in the league. I wanted to be like those guys, not just from a playing standpoint … just how they lead, how they were accountable, how each and every day they came in and did whatever they could for the team. So, I’m just trying to take what I was taught and pay it forward to the young guys so that eventually when Tre (Moehrig) is in year eight, year nine, he's doing the same thing.”

The Ascending Youngster: Safety Tre’von Moehrig

The average NFL career is almost three times shorter than Harmon’s aforementioned eight- or nine-year example. It requires a special player to stick that long, but based on his rookie season and now a few practices to start Year 2, Moehrig might have what it takes.

The quarterbacks dared to throw in his direction twice during a 7-on-7 drill near the start of practice Sunday. They were 0-for-2, with Moehrig deflecting one pass and playing suffocating coverage to give the receiver little chance to catch the second.

The free safety taken in the second round of last year’s draft out of TCU made the All-Rookie Team a year ago and could be on a trajectory to reach All-Pro status before long. It might be unclear who’s ultimately going to line up as the starting strong safety between Abram, Harmon and even Teamer.

But, either way, it looks like they’re going to have one heck of a free safety alongside them.

“The guy won the (Jim Thorpe Award, as college football’s top defensive back) so obviously the talent is there, but then just the will to get better,” Harmon said of Moehrig. “He’s been in my back pocket the whole time just trying to figure out, ‘Hey, am I doing this right? What can I improve on?’ So, you see a guy that is willing to put in the work to get to ultimately where he wants to be, which is being one of the better safeties in the league.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or