Training Camp Notebook 7/31: Cousins Brandon Facyson, Amari Burney making some noise on defense

Jul 31, 2023 at 03:20 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

The Las Vegas Raiders got some rest Sunday and hit the ground running again Monday morning.

They took advantage of their indoor practice field, staying cool in the A/C before their first practice with pads Tuesday. Here's a rundown of some notable things that occurred inside Intermountain Health Performance Center on the last day in July.

Notes and Observations from Day 5:

Offense

Hunter Renfrow continued the trend of looking formidable at slot receiver. While he's been splitting reps with several other receivers at the position, he stood out in Monday's practice.
Two rookies that looked impressive were Michael Mayer and Tre Tucker. Mayer made his fair share of catches throughout practice, while Tucker made a highlight reel jumpball catch on the sideline. "Michael, he made a couple of plays today which was good to see in the passing game," said offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi. "Again, hopefully he can translate that into running game tomorrow. And then Tre Tucker, no one I think has all the answers when they come into the league, first of all, and it's tough as a rookie. I think those guys have done a good job of coming in here and taking the coaching."
Brandon Bolden continues to prove age is just a number, as the 33-year-old running back made a few catches out of the backfield.
With more reps, it appears Jimmy Garoppolo and Davante Adams are building chemistry each and every day. Jimmy G connected with No. 17 on a deep ball to the house during team period.

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Defense

The defense has a whole played with great effort and energy. They were consistently trying to make plays on the ball, and hyping each other up every chance they got.
Isaiah Pola-Mao caught an interception in Monday's practice. The safety has stood out in special teams throughout camp so far, and beginning to show out on defense as well.
Linebackers Curtis Bolton and Amari Burney have been making the most of their opportunities. Burney, a rookie out of Florida, seems be coming along nicely, seeing a good chunk of reps throughout practice: "He's definitely learning the system well and he's making plays," said Brandon Facyson, Burney's new teammate and cousin. "We talk every single day. ... I'm just trying to be in his head every single day and he knows he can ask [me] any type of question. He's just continuing to make plays and continuing to progress each and every day and that's really what it's all about."
Speaking of Facyson, he also made a few plays in Monday's practice. He's seemingly excelled in man coverage since the beginning of camp and could earn back the starting outside cornerback job he won during his first tenure with the Raiders in 2021.
Nate Hobbs clocked in his first Training Camp practice.

Special Teams

Despite getting some love on defense, Polo-Mao still brought the juice on special teams in drills. He's become someone I'm certainly keeping an eye on once pads come on.

Quote of the day

Tomorrow is first day in pads so I've got to be locked in for that. It's the main part that I wait on every offseason. Big work day tomorrow. Jakob Johnson

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Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Jordan Meredith (61) on the field for practice at 2023 Training Camp at Intermountain Health Performance Center.