Even if Darrick Brown and Marcel Reece never make it to training camp, at least they’ll have a nice shiny Raiders helmet to put in their trophy case.

As the Raiders concluded a three-day rookie minicamp Sunday, Brown and Reece were given helmets as a reward, with defensive coordinator Rob Ryan giving one to Brown and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp handing one to Reece.

“(They were) best effort guys, one on offense, one on defense, doing what we talked about on the first day,” coach Lane Kiffin said.

Brown, who played cornerback, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of McNeese State. Ryan told the group Brown showed improvement every day. Reece, who would seem to have a good shot at being signed to a contract, was in on a tryout basis and played wide receiver, tight end and even a little running back.

Besides being award for their level of effort, Brown and Reece happen to be two of the most physically imposing rookies in camp.

A rangy 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Brown was a Louisiana long jump, triple jump and high jump chapion in high school as well as a standout on the McNeese State track team. In fact, all his college highlights listed at the Raiders Web site have to do with his track career.

Brown, who also played some wide receiver in college, had 34 tackles and a fumble recovery as a senior at McNeese State. His brother Marcus, who went to the same school, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Arizona Cardinals.

At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Reece was second in receiving at the University of Washington with 39 receptions for 761 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 19.5 yards per reception.

Reece had a big gainer during practice Sunday when quarterback Jeff Otis play-faked to Michael Bush and hit him in stride with a reverse roll.

More Day 3 snapshots:

– Who says the Raiders don’t blitz? Inside linebacker Shane Simmons blew through untouched up the middle and dropped Otis for a loss.

– Wide receiver Will Buchanon broke free between Nick Sanchez and Dominic Patrick but couldn’t hold on to a slightly off-target pass from Sam Keller on a deep sideline pattern. Keller also misfired to an open Todd Watkins against the coverage of Patrick and Brian Williams.

Watkins had his second straight impressive day after struggling on Day 1.

– Fifth-round draft pick Trevor Scott beat left tackle Brandon Rodd with an outside rush and force Otis to look for room up the middle.

– Nice day for defensive tackle George Chukwu, a tryout player out of Rice. Chukwu blew up one rushing play, knifing through against running back Louis Rankin, and then pounced on a fumbled snap by Otis at quarterback.

– Otis connected on a fade pattern for a touchdown over Patrick to seventh-round draft pick Chaz Schilens.

– One new face on the Raiders coaching staff belongs to John Fassel, son of former NFL head coach and Raiders assistant coach Jim Fassel. Fassel is an assistant special teams coach under Brian Schneider.

– The Raiders have not signed veteran defensive end Greg Spires but hope to finalize a deal as soon as today. The word is they have inquired about free agent wide receiver/kickoff return specialist Koren Robinson but have had no serious talks about bringing Robinson in.

– Wide receiver Arman Shields missed practice Sunday to be with his graduating class at Richmond.

– Kiffin said he expects “97 to 98 percent” attendance when the Raiders begin voluntary organized team activities, which run Tuesday through Thursday. There is media availability scheduled for Thursday.

OTA practices are instructional in nature with no contact.

– After saying Friday that wide receiver Jonathan Holland had been held out of practice by the training staff, Kiffin said Sunday Holland actually was not eligible for the rookie minicamp because he spent last season on injured reserve, as opposed to the Physically Unable to Perform list. Holland worked out virtually every day alongside Michael Bush last year, but since Bush was on PUP, he was eligible and Holland was not.

Kiffin said Holland is expected to attend OTAs starting Tuesday.

After keeping Darren McFadden in the garage for a day, the Raiders took him out for a spin to see how he could perform on the open road Saturday.

Practice ended with McFadden taking a pitch from quarterback Brian White and beating a linebacker to the corner and streaking downfield for an offensive “win.”

It’s no secret that McFadden is fast.

What I wanted to see was the receiving skills Lane Kiffin had been raving about, the ones which McFadden insisted he had even though they were rarely exploited at Arkansas.

Nothing is for certain until McFadden actually catches some passes in traffic in full-contact situations, but indications are that the Raiders have themselves their first legitimate threat out of the backfield since Charlie Garner, with the added bonus being that Michael Bush looks fluid and natural catching the ball as well.

McFadden caught passes out of the backfield. He caught them split out as a wide receiver. He sliced inside a helpless Brian Williams for a catch and run. He even lined up as quarterback taking shotgun snaps less than 24 hours after Kiffin cautioned about throwing too much at the rookie too soon.

“I thought Darren had a really impressive day, adding a lot to the offense,” Kiffin said. “We got him outside and did some really good things, as well as Michael Bush outside as well.”

Before taking the field, McFadden, in an interview session compared himself with Vikings rookie star Adrian Peterson.

“We’re both big, fast guys,” McFadden said. “He’s probably a little more physical than I am but as far as just natural play-making and talent, I feel like I have an edge on any running back. Not saying it to be cocky or anything but I feel like I’m very versatile and I can play a lot of different positions.”

More Day 2 snapshots:

– San Ramon Valley High product Sam Keller continued to get extensive work during his tryout, which ends Sunday. He made soem good throws but wasn’t as sharp as on Saturday.

He had one pass batted down by defensive lineman Tranell Morant of Arizona.

“You either produce or don’t produce,” Keller said. “They either like you, or they say, `get out of town.’ I’m going to enjoy my three days and see what happens.”

– McFadden expressed confidence that his contract should not be a problem and that he would be at training camp on time. There is no reason to think that won’t be the case.

Last year’s fiasco with JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, was the only time the Raiders have ever had trouble bringing in a draft pick. The market for McFadden’s deal will be set both those immedately after and before him, and chances are it will be a much easier exercise.

– Fullback Matthew Hahn dropped an easy swing pass from Jeff Otis, but that didn’t prevent linebacker Malik Jackson from getting scolded for being a late arrival.

“You’re making it hard on yourself,” linebackers coach Don Martindale said. “You’ve got to close that gap.”

– Raiders defensive backs were generally victimized by receivers for the second straight day, even though the quarterback play was spotty.

Todd Watkins made a couple of nice catches, including one over the middle with hands high at the top of a leap.

Watkins is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, and draftees Arman Shields (6-1, 195) and Chaz Schilens (6-4, 225) are bigger than the defensive backs that cover them. Marcel Reece, in for a weekend tryout, is 6-3, 235). Only Drisan James (5-11, 185) qualifies as a smaller receiver. Oakland’s veterans are also on the large side other than last year’s third-round pick Johnnie Lee Higgins (5-11, 185).

The Raiders should have plenty of large targets to choose from for quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

– McFadden kept the ball securely tucked in his right arm throughout practice and did not have anything close to a fumble.

Running backs coach Tom Rathman said McFadden’s mechanics were flawed in college.

“I told him he’s got to lock his elbow down,” Rathman said. “A lot of times his elbow wasn’t locked to the side, and obviously if you don’t have that point, which is the most critical point in my opinion, as far as the four points of pressure, you’re going to have some issues.”

By Rathman’s count, four of McFadden’s fumbles came at Arkansas while at quarterback, and two on kickoff returns, making his fumble stats seem worse than they really were.

– Rathman’s assessment of McFadden’s running style: “You talk about running to a spot, putting a foot down and accelerating, that’s what he is. Very similar to Justin Fargas, in style. A little more upright, as a runner, kind of an Eric Dickerson style, shoulders up, great slasher, can accelerate, separate from a defender. It’s going to be great this year. It really is.”

– The offensive line of right tackle Noah Sutherland, right guard Jonathan Palmer, center Adam Spieker, left guard Jesse Boone and right tackle Brandon Rodd kept quarterbacks clean for the most part.

Offensive line, considering the Raiders scheme, would be one of the most likely positions for an unknown commodity to make a run at the 53-man roster.

– Kiffin compared the situation of Bush this season to the one Fargas experienced last year. Fargas, seemingly buried behind LaMont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes, had his breakout season with 1,009 yards.

“I actually talked to Justin about it, he said, ‘It’s OK, just hang in there,’ ” Bush said. “And I wasn’t really nervous about not playing. I was just worrying about where would I stand in an offensive standpoint. But things happen. They released Dominic, which I didn’t think they was gonna do. Things turn out differently.”

– Rathman talked glowingly of the stable of running backs, but stressed the Raiders won’t hesitate to move backs in and out based on production.

“I don’t care if you were the fourth round pick, one of the top guys of the SEC that have ever come out as a runner, I don’t care if you’re Justin Fargas ran for 1,009 yards,” Rathman said. “I mean, we have a standard here of the play that we want to present as a group of running backs, and we’re going to hold everybody that suits up and steps out on that field to those standards. When you’re not able to get it done to those standards, we’re going to go to the next guy.”