Las Vegas Raiders' biggest takeaways from first week of training camp

Mike Moraitis

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Las Vegas Raiders' biggest takeaways from first week of training camp image

The Las Vegas Raiders held their first three practices of training camp last week, with the final one of Week 1 coming on Friday. The team is set to return to the practice field on Monday.

As we wait for the next session on Monday, it's time to take a look back at the opening week and point out what some of the biggest takeaways from it were.

Of course, the quarterback competition between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell continues to be the biggest story, although there isn't much to report on that front, as neither signal-caller did much to establish themselves as the favorite.

We'll go over that and more as we take a look at the biggest takeaways from the Raiders' first week of training camp in Costa Mesa, California.

Raiders' takeaways from training camp

Neither QB takes the lead

Both Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell have picked up where they left off from the offseason program, with the signal-callers having their fair share of ups and downs during training camp thus far.

Minshew threw a pair of picks during one practice, but then O'Connell tossed a pair of picks the next day to even things back up. Through the first week of camp, we still don't have any indication that one is ahead of the other.

Secondary looking good

As noted above, the secondary was responsible for four interceptions over the first week of camp. Safeties Marcus Epps and Tre'von Moehrig picked off Minshew, and cornerback Jack Jones and safety Isaiah Pola-Mao picked off O'Connell.

While the two quarterbacks aren't blameless for their own struggles, Tashan Reed of The Athletic noted the performance of the secondary has certainly played a part.

When it comes to the battle for the No. 2 cornerback job opposite Jones, Reed noted that second-year cornerback Jakorian Bennett has looked the best out of the competitors, a group that includes Brandon Facyson and Decamerion Richardson.

Good first week for rookies

Head coach Antonio Pierce heaped praise on at least three of the team's rookies, running back Dylan Laube, cornerback Decamerion Richardson and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg.

But Laube received the highest praise, with Pierce saying the rookie running back is "special."

"That dude is special. I like him," Pierce said of Laube, per Levi Edwards of Raiders.com. "And he's gritty. He's a gritty (running back). One thing — he surprises you with his speed. … He's going to be a difficult matchup, and it's already showing up in practice."

Here's what Pierce said about the other two:

"He's quiet, he doesn't say nothing but if you watch every rep he's right behind Jack or Facyson, or whoever it is, and he's just taking a lot of mental reps," Pierce said of Richardson, according to Jesse Merrick of News 3 Las Vegas. "When he goes in he's not making those mistakes and I think we're doing a good job as coaches of spoon feeding him and not throwing him out there to the wolves right away so he doesn't get burned and lose that confidence."

"Tommy is a silent killer," Pierce said of Eichenberg, also per Merrick. "Tommy is slowly, each and every day, gotten better and better and I'm going back to OTAs and minicamp. He's come right into training camp and picked right up. He's put himself in position to be a backup or be a guy to get some playing time for us. We know what he can do on special teams but his football savviness, his anticipation, his overall leadership — I'd love to see when he gets pads on what I think it's gonna look like — I'm excited for that."

Last but certainly not least, first-round pick and tight end Brock Bowers has looked as advertised. He was particularly dominant in the red zone period on Friday.

WR3 job is Tre Tucker's to lose

Tucker entered training camp as the favorite for the No. 3 wide receiver role and the gap has only widened since then.

Granted, Tucker did struggle with a few drops during one practice, but he's been solid overall. Making his situation look even better, the retirement of Michael Gallup and injury to Jalen Guyton is also helping.

“It’s always going to be a competition,” Tucker said, according to Levi Damien of Raiders Wire. “It’s my job to lose, you know. I’m going to take that approach, and whoever we bring in, and whoever we get, I’m just going to keep my head down and keep working.”

“So much better,” Jakobi Meyers said of Tucker. “I don’t think anybody worked harder this offseason. He had goals that he really focused on and he went and accomplished them. He catches the ball so much better.”

Barring something unforeseen, Tucker should start the 2024 campaign as the Raiders' No. 3 wide receiver.

Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis Photo

After cutting his teeth with Bleacher Report, Mike Moraitis has covered the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans for FanSided, and the Titans and New York Giants for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. On top of his duties with Sporting News, Mike is the managing editor and lead writer for Titans Wire.