The Good and Not So Good From Commanders’ First Padded Practice

Sonny Styles made an immediate impact in pads, Jayden Daniels helped the offense find more scoring plays and Athan Kaliakmanis’ turnover issues continued Monday.

Washington Commanders rookie linebacker Sonny Styles takes part in the team’s first padded training camp practice in Ashburn, Virginia. | Grant Paulsen/X

After taking Sunday off, the Washington Commanders were back at it on Monday for Day 4 of training camp, which also marked the first day in pads. The increased physicality in practice allowed LB Sonny Styles and several members of the defensive front to shine, while the offense produced more scoring plays than in previous practice sessions. That said, let's take a look at what went well and what did not during the Commanders' first padded practice.

The Good

Styles announced his presence immediately by meeting Jacory Croskey-Merritt in the hole at the line of scrimmage on the very first play of practice. That was not the only time during practice that Styles would fill a running lane and kill the play for no gain. His athletic ability was already easy to see in shorts; now that the pads have come out, Washington has seen the clearest look at how his physicality can translate against the run. Styles was definitely much more visible on the field once contact was introduced today and did everything a linebacker drafted seventh overall should do in the process.

The offense felt some momentum shift today, most notably when Jayden Daniels first connected with Terry McLaurin for a touchdown in the back corner of the end zone against Mike Sainristil. Then Daniels later followed that up with a tight-window touchdown throw to tight end Chig Okonkwo, who secured the ball before hitting the back of the end zone. Those may not sound like much, but it is encouraging after Washington's defense controlled most of the first three practices. Daniels also found Rachaad White for a touchdown, but White's big moment of the day came on an outside run that carried him 10+ yards downfield before the defender could push him out of bounds.

Daniels to McLaurin pic.twitter.com/skv6kdJl7G

— Grant Paulsen (@GrantPaulsen) August 3, 2026

Rookie edge rusher Joshua Josephs was one of the players who clearly benefited once the pads came on, batting down a Daniels pass after showing his athleticism earlier in the day during pass protection drills. With all the players in that room that currently reside on the roster, it's hard to place Josephs on the depth chart, but if he continues to stack days like today, that will start getting easier. Linebacker Ale Kaho had a day after intercepting a pass from rookie Athan Kaliakmanis and breaking up a potential two-point conversion meant for tight end Ben Sinnott. Kaho finds himself trapped at the back end of a deep linebacker room, so creating any form of disruption gives him valuable film for both special teams and practice-squad consideration in a few weeks.

The kicking competition continued with both kickers going 6-6 in practice. While both kickers doing well and not missing is the name of the game, each made kick makes the battle that much tougher.

Caught up with Josh Josephs after pray today. He's been a guy I've been impressed with at camp. He's shown strength but also a little more finesse to his game than I expected pic.twitter.com/BvIvxUt4x5

— Mitchell Tischler (@Mitch_Tischler) August 3, 2026

The Not So Good

Kaliakmanis appearing in this section for another interception after being picked off in each of the previous two open practices is not a good look. Turnovers in three consecutive practices are hard to defend or dismiss for a seventh-round quarterback trying to take reps from Sam Hartman as a developmental quarterback. Rookies are expected to make mistakes, but throwing interceptions every day will never be acceptable and is worth tracking.

Odafe Oweh was back to wreaking havoc, with his speed once again on display, getting around Josh Conerly Jr. cleanly during pass-protection drills. That is not really anything to get too excited about; a second-year tackle losing an isolated rep to an established pass rusher is not all that alarming. Reps like that one are the proof that shows why padded work matters. Now Washington can truthfully begin to evaluate whether its tackles can handle the speed and physicality of their own rebuilt front.

While Styles provided the day's clearest defensive statement, Daniels and the offense showed more life than they did during the opening week. The first padded practice of the season gave Washington its most useful evaluation so far, but Kaliakmanis' continued turnovers have become the first official concerning trend of camp.

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