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3 Observations From Seahawks 18th Training Camp Practice

Back in pads, Seattle's newest playmaker on the outside turned in his best practice to date, while a newcomer caught the eye of his defensive coordinator with a strong first impression. Reporter Corbin Smith breaks down what he saw/heard at the VMAC in Wednesday's session.

Closing in on their final preseason dress rehearsal against the Chargers, the Seahawks returned to the practice field for their 18th training camp practice on Wednesday.

What went down at the VMAC? Here are three quick observations:

1. Now in his second week back from injury, Dee Eskridge looks ready to launch.

After being activated last week from the PUP list, the Seahawks slowly eased Eskridge back into action with limited reps during team sessions in his first few practices. But so far this week, he's been getting more extensive playing time and on Wednesday, he capitalized on those opportunities and then some.

Early in the practice session during a red zone period, Eskridge beat Tre Flowers inside on a slant and Russell Wilson delivered a perfect pass in stride for the touchdown. Towards the end of practice, the second-round pick out of Western Michigan showed why he was Indiana's Mr. Track and Field in 2016, blazing past safety Aashari Crosswell in single-deep coverage on a post route and turning on the afterburners to catch a long touchdown from Wilson.

"It's great to have him back out there," offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said following Wednesday's session. "You can see the pep in his step once he's out there back on the grass running, looks fast, got his aggressive hands, and really getting a chance to get his feet underneath him doing more and more every day."

On Tuesday, while he remained hopeful he would play, coach Pete Carroll wasn't sure if Eskridge would suit up in the Seahawks preseason finale. Considering how he performed on Wednesday, however, he looks more than ready to receive his first NFL snaps this weekend and if he does, Waldron will be seeking ways to get the ball into his new playmaker's hands.

2. A well-rested Carlos Dunlap put on a clinic pinning his ears back off the edge.

Now 32 years old, Dunlap has participated in most of Seattle's training camp practices albeit with a restricted workload, particularly during team drills. With younger players needing the repetitions more than he does, the team has been able to keep him fresh while still ensuring he was prepared for Week 1.

Seeing a bit more action on Wednesday, Dunlap terrorized Seattle's tackles throughout the afternoon, winning with power, long-arm moves, and spin moves to find his way into the backfield. Since training camp practices have a quick whistle, he didn't make any sacks on Wilson or any other quarterbacks, but in an actual game situation, he likely would have had at least two of them, if not more.

Since the Seahawks have added more depth off the edge, Dunlap shouldn't have to shoulder as large of a workload. But as he's showing on the practice field, this truly has a chance to be a less is more type situation where his production could increase even if he isn't seeing the field as often.

3. On his first day as a Seahawk, John Reid wasted little time making a strong first impression.

Only in his second NFL season out of Penn State, Reid had fallen out of favor with Houston's new coaching staff and front office and the team was expected to waive him in the near future. But the Seahawks were intrigued by his athleticism and versatility and with Tre Brown nursing a knee injury, they sent a conditional seventh-round pick to the Texans to acquire him on Tuesday.

Sporting No. 35 in his first practice with his new team, Reid did everything he could to stand out in front of Carroll and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. Drawing a difficult assignment against DK Metcalf during one-on-ones in the red zone, he stayed on the All-Pro receiver's hip, reached up with his left arm, and broke up the pass from Wilson. Later during Seattle's 11-on-11 scrimmage period, he once again was matched up against Metcalf playing 10 yards off the ball, breaking out of his backpedal and playing sticky coverage against a hitch route. Wilson's pass fell a few yards short and the stellar coverage drew cheers from Reid's new teammates.

"You could tell he came in wanting to set an impression," defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said. "He was making some plays. He made himself be known. If anyone can make a really good first impression, he made a good one."

Arriving mid-week, Reid will only have two practices under his belt before the preseason finale. But if Wednesday was any indication, he shouldn't have any issues adjusting to Seattle's system and may see quite a few snaps playing on outside cornerback along with special teams on Saturday night.

Injury Updates: For a second straight day, Brown (knee), Ryan Neal (oblique), and safety Quandre Diggs (rest) did not participate in practice. Defensive end L.J. Collier also sat out with an undisclosed injury.