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Titans' rookie minicamp practice thoughts and notes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans had just 31 players to work with at Saturday’s rookie minicamp practice session.

Rules limited teams to five tryout players, they brought in only four and one, former Vanderbilt wide receiver Kalija Lipscomb fell out after a tough start with a lot of drops.

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Pool photo/ Mark Humphrey, AP

First-round draft pick Caleb Farley wasn’t a part of things as he continues to rehab from back surgery and third-rounder Elijah Molden (injury unknown) did only a little work at the end, moving very gingerly.

Some thoughts on what they ran through in 90 minutes:

Offensive line: Keith Carter had the most to do, with six offensive linemen on the camp’s roster, including second-rounder Dillon Radunz. Working a lot of two-man and individual stuff, Carter gave very detailed guidance through many of the drills these players will be doing at OTAs, minicamp and in training camp. While a lot of stuff was not at full speed, Radunz did very well picking up on one coaching point and doing something different and better the next snap – the sort of adaptability and adjustment coaches want to see from a guy of his standing. Radunz, who said "speed and violence were Carter keywords, and a couple of other linemen stayed on the field for additional work with coaches after practice. 

Meanwhile...: Across the line, undrafted Naquan Jones was a solo act. At one point he worked under the watch of Shane Bowen, Terrell Williams and new D-line assistant Kenechi Udeze. Three days with that sort of attention working with Williams and Udeze will certainly help give Jones a head start as he tries to land a roster spot at a position where the Titans are not particularly deep. Later in the practice, outside linebacker Justus Reed joined Jones for work with Williams.

Rashad Weaver: Vrabel addressed the status of fourth-round outside backer Rashad Weaver and the Titans’ scouting process that did not unveil that he’d been involved in a bar incident that led to an assault charge that came to light after the selection.

In a setting where it's hard to get a real feel for anyone, it was especially hard to get much of a sense about Weaver.

Wideouts: Dez Fitzpatrick, the fourth-round wide receiver, seemed to gain confidence and he got further into drills. He said he wanted to make a good first impression by limiting mistakes. Fitzpatrick looked fine but needs polish as you'd expect. Racey McMcMath, the inexperienced sixth-round pass-catcher from LSU, will have everyone re-thinking uniform number 81, previously owned by a thicker player at a different position, tight end Jonnu Smith. As you can see here, his foot skills have a way to go.

Eligible: Five players who qualify as a "1" rather than a rookie in NFL experience were eligible to participate: receiver Mason Kinsey, linebacker Jan Johnson, tackles Paul Adams and Brandon Kemp and tight end Tommy Hudson.

Size: Undrafted rookies Miller Forristall (6-foot-5, 239) out of Alabama and Briley Moore (6-4, 240) out of Kansas State are of particular interest as the Titans didn't bring in an outsider in free-agency or the draft after losing Jonnu Smith and not re-signing MyCole Pruitt though he could still re-emerge. Here is a bit of them.  Forristal is 42, Moore is 49 and Hudson is 89.

Tryouts: Along with quarterback Brady White of Memphis and Lipscomb, the other two tryout players were Josh Nurse, a cornerback from Utah, and Otis Anderson, a running back from Central Florida. White didn't have the occasion to throw the ball a bunch as even in some drills where pass routes were run, plays ended with a pump fake/ pulldown of the ball.

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