The Jets had their first organized team activity (OTA) practice that was open to the media on Thursday. Most of the attention focused on coach Adam Gase’s news conference and his answers about the firing of general manager Mike Maccagnan. But there was some actual football.

Here are some observations from that first open practice:

1. Second-year quarterback Sam Darnold looked really good. Now, it is only May and you can’t read too much into these OTA practices when players are in shorts. Still, Darnold looked comfortable in Gase’s offense and made some jaw-dropping throws.

The two that stood out were a 43-yard bomb down the sideline to Robby Anderson that was perfectly placed and a throw across the middle to Quincy Enunwa. On the Enunwa pass, Darnold moved to his right and then threw a dart to Enunwa in a tight window.

Darnold sounds like he is enjoying playing for Gase and he looked at ease on the field.

2. The practice had a tremendous pace to it. Instead of huddling and Gase telling the play to Darnold, he used a walkie-talkie to speak to Darnold through his helmet headset, simulating a game. That resulted in plays being called rapidly and it did not feel like there was any dead time in the practice.

As a result of that, the energy of the practice was high. It did not feel like May. It felt more like an August training camp practice. The presence of Gregg Williams added to that. He had the defense fired up and talking plenty. At one point, guard Kelechi Osemele and defensive end Leonard Williams did some pushing and shoving. It is rare to see that in an OTA where the practices are usually more relaxed.

3. One area of concern for the Jets that jumped out on Thursday is their depth at cornerback. Trumaine Johnson was not at the practice. That left Darryl Roberts and Derrick Jones as their starting cornerbacks on the outside with Brian Poole at slot.

Johnson could have a bounceback year after a disappointing first season with the Jets. Roberts served as a nice backup, but can you trust him for 1,000 snaps? Then, if they have one injury, which is usually something you can bank on at that position, they are in deep trouble. It is not as bad as 2014 when John Idzik gave Rex Ryan no cornerbacks, but it feels close.

Gase and the new general manager likely will find a veteran cornerback before training camp. Morris Claiborne is still a free agent. The Jets could bring him back. It won’t be easy to find a fix because cornerbacks are found in March in free agency and in April in the draft, not in June and July usually.

4. There has been a lot of focus on Le’Veon Bell not attending these voluntary sessions, but one beneficiary has been Ty Montgomery. The former Packer has been getting the bulk of the first-team reps in Bell’s absence. You can tell Gase likes Montgomery’s versatility. He can do so many things with him both in the running and passing games.

When Bell returns, he will be a major part of the offense, but Montgomery is showing he could be a contributor this season, too.

5. Gase had a giant video screen set up in one corner of the fieldhouse where the Jets practiced on Thursday. It showed replays of the drills and plays the team had just run. I have never seen a setup like that before. It is an interesting concept and a smart one. Players don’t have to wait until hours later to see what corrections they need to make. They can watch them immediately.