One day of rookie mini-camp practices is in the books and there were a few observations from a cool, cloudy day in May.

First, Patrick Chung definitely looks the part. Whether it was during position drills at the beginning of practice or in 7-on-7 work, Chung carried himself like a football player. He came out of Oregon with a reputation of being physical and he looked like he was dying to drop the hammer on any number of receivers that ventured across the middle in his presence. Obviously we won’t know a thing until he gets some pads on and the contact gets heated up, but Chung impressed.

Darius Butler, another second-round pick, was dominant in the afternoon practice. That came after a less-than-ideal first workout in the morning according to Andy and Erik. I missed the morning practice while trying to get the latest edition of PFW ready for the printers early next week, but my boys tell me he struggled a bit. He failed to catch a couple of punts, had a hard time keeping his feet during drills and struggled a bit in coverage. None of that was on display in the afternoon. He was in the receiver’s shirt on every play, had a terrific interception near the sideline and appeared to be the best athlete on the field. He didn’t get any chances to redeem himself as a punt returner, but his work at corner was eye-popping. So much so that I cast a skeptical eye toward Andy based on his early scouting report. (He said, shutup, Fatboy!).

Sebastian Vollmer, the final of the four second-round picks, is huge. Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia worked his troops out on the far side of the fields well away from our view so it was hard to see what was going on, but Vollmer showed some good footwork in some lateral mobility drills and was the tallest of the five men working in Dante’s Inferno. He also sported a sizable bandage on his nose.

Jermail Porter, a former college wrestler who has never played football, sported No. 91 in white and worked with Scarnecchia and the linemen. The veteran coach had Porter stay behind after the workout to further refine his stance and technique. Like Vollmer, he also struck a rather intimidating pose at 6-5 and 310 pounds, although it’s far too early to know if Porter will wind up being the second coming of Stephen Neal.

One final note … quarterback Brian Hoyer threw the ball well during the afternoon practice. With the exception of a few miscommunications with his receivers, which is to be expected with so little time to prepare, most of Hoyer’s throws were on time and accurate. From a physical standpoint he looked ready to get to training camp to compete for a roster spot.