Friday practice thoughts

I'm not even really sure why but I went to todays practice and figured I'd give some thoughts on what I saw. I'm an idiot so read these at your own risk:

QB: O'Brien looks every bit as good as Morris. O'Brien had a few downfield completions but both of them checked down a lot. Huard is clearly the most naturally gifted passer but he's a bit of a gun slinger. He's not afraid to go downfield but he also made several questionable decisions that resulted in turn overs.

WR: Plenty of talent left in the room even with the departures of Nacua and Co. Taj Davis had a few nice downfield catches where he had to hold onto the ball after taking a shot from the DB. He was the most productive receiver at practice. Davis, Odunze, McMillan, Polk, Racanelli and Bynum all look very athletic and I would have higher expectations for that room than some in the media are giving it credit for. A lack of production here would have to be considered a coaching/scheme failure. Racanelli is huge. I thought he was a tight end when I first saw him. He's our most physically imposing receiver followed by Polk.

DL: Taimani looked more active than I remember him being last season so maybe the portends better production from him this year. Early enrollee Voi Tunuufi looks really, really good. I saw him beat offensive lineman in 1 on 1 drills using both power and agility. While plenty of guys looked solid and did some nice things he jumped off the field to me. Definitely a guy who I'd expect to see in the rotation at some point this year. Bandes also flashed as a 2-gap guy inside and will definitely be in the rotation and is much more athletic than Taimani. Doog legend Draco Bynum looks bigger and has a good motor but still isn't the technician you need to be to have production as an interior, 2-gap guy in our scheme.

DE: Smalls was at the practice but not suited up. Bowman and Trice looked good in 1 on 1 drills. Trice won a bunch of 1 on 1 reps and was getting to the QB using both power and agility and had good bend around the edge. Martin is a quick twitch guy and is physical at the point of attack. He's very athletic in a straight line but lacks the coordination to be an elite agility guy when it comes to using spin moves and the like. Cooper McDonald played well and really excelled dropping into coverage. Overall, there's plenty of talent and that position will be fine but Bowman and Trice were the only guys who looked like they could generate a pass rush from the outside(once again, Smalls didn't practice). I'm sure Martin will make plays as a "pursuit" guy who chases plays down from behind given how fast he is.

DB: Radley-Hiles plays fast and instinctual. As long as he doesn't get asked to cover TE's in man he'll be a great nickel for us(hopefully we learned our lesson there with Myles Bryant when he got torched against the Tree). Cook and Asa Turner were at practice but not suited up.