Training Camp Notebook 7/28: Explosive plays made during first practice in pads

And just like that, competition reached new heights at the Raiders practice facility.

The acclimation period for training camp has concluded, with the pads coming on Monday morning for the team's fifth practice. There's no doubt the energy shifted. Not in a negative way by any means, but a more serious approach was evident in all three phases of the ball.

Here are the daily notes, quotes and observations of what took place for the highly-anticipated practice session.

Notes and Observations from Day 4 of practice

Offense

• Ashton Jeanty started team period off with a bang, forcing several missed tackles on a few of his first runs. It's also worth mentioning that he continues to be a factor in the Raiders' passing game, as does the rest of the running back room.
• Jackson Powers-Johnson was placed back at center with the first-team after Jordan Meredith saw the bulk of those snaps Sunday. During one-on-ones with the defensive line, the 2024 second-rounder held his own on his reps.
• Aidan O'Connell found Jack Bech for a touchdown, this time in red zone drills. Bech, draped with a cornerback on him, still came down with the ball for a touchdown – his second in two practices.
• The play of the day came later in the day, leaving the defense at the mercy of Geno Smith's arm. Down near the 30-yard line, Smith had a one-on-one matchup to his left side with Dont'e Thornton Jr. The 6-foot-4 rookie from Tennessee, who ran a 4.30 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, sprinted past his defender on a go-route. Smith dropped it in the bucket for a touchdown.
• "Knowing that Geno and the whole offense have the trust and belief in me to take a play and a shot like that with me, knowing that they believe in me makes you want to work harder every single day," Thornton Jr. said after practice.
• Another impressive throw that got the crowd energized was when Smith found Brock Bowers for a toe-touch grab on the sideline. The catch and throw was similar to their touchdown in Sunday's practice, with the defender in good position to make a play on the ball but Smith placing the ball only where Bowers could get it.
• Toward the end of practice, rookie quarterback Cam Miller found the end zone with a dart to Carter Runyon. The UDFA tight end from Towson also caught a touchdown last Wednesday.

Defense

• During the team's first red zone period, Smith scanned the end zone looking for Tre Tucker, but Decamerion Richardson read the play and nabbed an interception.
• "Not to single out [Decamerion], but the thing about Cam, he works really hard," defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said Sunday. "He corrects his mistakes. He has all the tools. He's long, he's fast, he's physical. We'll evaluate that a little bit more tomorrow, but I'm just real pleased with the progress he's made from rookie year to now. "
• Germaine Pratt missed a few practices due to hamstring tightness, per Coach Carroll, and returned for the first day in pads. The linebacker made his presence felt with a pass deflection on Brock Bowers one play after the tight end's highlight reel catch.
• "He's done a great job, been real diligent," Graham said of Pratt. "Finding extra time to meet, getting his eyes in the playbook and getting used to how we do things. Again, he's been playing with a good defense for a long time and he's done a lot of roles when he was at the other place, so he knows football."
• The linebacking corps came into training camp with a lot questions. While Elandon Roberts and Devin White continue to see a lot of reps, Tommy Eichenberg is also pushing for a bigger role within the defense with a handful of first-team reps. Veterans Jamal Adams and Pratt are also making cases for themselves.
• A couple unsung defenders slowly creeping into the scene are Ovie Oghoufo and JT Woods. Oghoufo, who spent time on the Raiders practice squad in 2024, dominated in one-on-one drills against the offensive line. Woods, who played 13 games for the Los Angeles Chargers over two seasons, signed with the Raiders last week and has made a handful of defensive stops since arriving.

Special Teams

• Special teams coordinator Tom McMahon spoke with the media for the first time this camp, and addressed how the team is adjusting to the rule changes made to kickoffs. The "Dynamic Kickoff" is now permanent and the touchback spot has moved to the 35-yard line. No one is more excited than McMahon of how the changes will encourage more kick returns.
• "The big thing here is our special teams players now, they've got to work every single play," McMahon said. "There's going to be a tackle, you're going to have a block somebody every single play. ... Your special team players' value, it skyrockets. And they want to play, they're football players. Same thing on KR [kick return], they want to block it. And your returner value skyrockets."
• Running backs Dylan Laube, Sincere McCormick and Chris Collier getting the bulk seem to be getting the bulk to returning kicks and punts in practice. Receivers Tommy Eichenberg and Tre Tucker have seen some as well, but McMahon revealed his philosophy surrounding the team's rushers getting involved in the return game.
• "The big thing is from a kick return standpoint, it's going to come down to a little bit of play strength," McMahon said. "A guy's that 160 pounds, 100 reps, pounding it up in there. It will wear on them a little bit, so we're trying to get some of them bigger bodies to catch the football. ... It's more of the halfback type body type is what I think you're going to see in the league, especially with the numbers going so high with kick returns."

Quote of the Day