First, there was video of DeSean Jackson shaking free from Norman during one-on-one drills Thursday for an easy catch.

The following day, there was footage of Pierre Garcon running past Norman on a deep route, which Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson used as an indictment of Norman’s status as the highest-rated cornerback in the “Madden” video game series.

The replies to both videos feature a mix of concern, cries of “overrated” and “overpaid,” and even a photo of burnt toast. On Monday, the producers of ESPN’s “First Take” used the damning video evidence from training camp in Richmond as the jumping-off point for a 13-minute discussion about whether Norman is worth his hefty price tag.

“First Take” analyst Darren Woodson, who won three Super Bowls and made five Pro Bowls during his career as a defensive back with the Cowboys, tried to talk some sense into anyone who would question Norman’s coverage skills based on his performance in a couple of one-on-one drills.

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“The one-on-one [drill] is structured for the quarterback and wide receiver to win all the time,” Woodson said. “No pass rush. The quarterback just sits there and pats the ball. The wide receiver runs his route exactly how he wants to run it; there’s no pressure involved on the quarterback side. We used to get beat like this all the time as a defensive back, I don’t care who you are. In one-on-ones, it’s set up for the wide receiver to win, and that’s totally unfair.”

(As CSN’s J.P. Finlay notes, cornerbacks also don’t have any safety help in one-on-one drills or linebackers making receivers think twice about crossing over the middle.)

Woodson went on to say that he doesn’t consider Norman “the elite of the elite like Richard Sherman” and that Norman is “absolutely not” worth being the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, but the Redskins paid what they thought they needed to in order to acquire one of the better players at an important position.

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Stephen A. Smith mostly agreed with Woodson, arguing that Norman is a system player who will thrive in defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s zone schemes, especially if Preston Smith, Ryan Kerrigan and others are able to put pressure on the quarterback.

“Now if you hired him to be a shutdown corner a la Deion Sanders, of course there’s a problem,” Smith said.

That’s precisely the problem with Norman for Max Kellerman, who recently replaced Skip Bayless as Smith’s co-host. Kellerman described Norman as a “good player,” a “very useful player” and a “zone corner.”

“If you’re going to guarantee the most dollars in the NFL at the position to a corner, that guy should be a shutdown corner,” Kellerman said. “There aren’t that many of them, I get it, but I don’t think that’s Norman.”

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While training camp videos will probably continue to generate angst and debate over the next month, Redskins tight end Niles Paul says the team isn’t discussing Norman’s one-on-one battles in the locker room.

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