3 studs and 2 duds from Titans joint practice with Buccaneers

The Tennessee Titans held a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday. It represented their first opportunity of training camp to compete against another team. They'll play versus the Buccaneers in Saturday's Week 1 preseason opener.

Several Titans players went into joint practice needing a good performance. Brian Callahan is still sorting through his depth chart. Practicing against a playoff-caliber Buccaneers team served as an excellent measuring stick for the rebuilding Titans.

Which players managed to stand out — for better or worse? Let's take a closer look at what occurred at Thursday's joint practice session with the Buccaneers by identifying the studs and duds.

Studs and Duds from Titans' joint practice with Buccaneers

Stud: WR Elic Ayomanor

The Titans' passing game was inconsistent during one-on-one drills between receivers and defensive backs, but rookie wideout Elic Ayomanor made a pair of impressive catches. Ayomanor can be seen making an explosive play in this clip captured by beat reporter Nick Suss. That sort of suddenness off the line of scrimmage will create easy separation this season.

Dud: DT Jeffery Simmons

Jeffery Simmons arrived at camp after undergoing an impressive transformation during the offseason. Simmons looks slimmer, faster, and more explosive. He's been dominant at Titans practice, but Buccaneers guard Cody Mauch got the better of him on Thursday. That's just good-on-good, and this rep was slightly more debatable than initially met the eye.

Stud: WR Calvin Ridley

Calvin Ridley has been Ward's go-to target at practice, and that will certainly continue to be the case during the regular season. On this rep, Ridley uses a nifty stutter-step to lull a Buccaneers defensive back to sleep for a would-be long TD. That easy acceleration will lead to explosive completions for Ward this year. The experienced wideout also made a big-time play during 11-on-11.

Stud: S Xavier Woods

Titans safety Xavier Woods had an interception for the defense, per Greg Auman. It occurred during a 7-on-7 period that pitted the Titans' first-team offense against the Buccaneers' first-team defense. That's a big-time play for Woods, who's tasked with fending off competition from rookie Kevin Winston Jr. and newly-signed Quandre Diggs at safety.

Dud: RB Tyjae Spears

Titans running back Tyjae Spears is among those competing for the starting role at punt returner. He muffed an opportunity during a special teams period, per Paul Kuharsky. Spears has been terrific at training camp, and he's expected to play a sizable role on offense this year, but he's also losing the battle on special teams.