Nine Players To Watch In Patriots’ Preseason Opener Vs. Texans

Real football resumes Thursday night for the New England Patriots.

Well, for some of the Patriots.

As is customary in Week 1 of the preseason, New England likely will give most of its top players the night off when it hosts the Houston Texans in an exhibition game at Gillette Stadium. Expect the vast majority of snaps on both sides of the ball to go to young players and those fighting for roster spots.

“The players who are least experienced will get the most playing time,” head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday. “I can tell you that.”

With that plan in mind, here are nine players we’re looking forward to watching as the Patriots preseason kicks off:

CB Christian Gonzalez
In last year’s preseason opener, the Patriots sat nearly all of their projected starters — except their first-round draft pick, left guard Cole Strange. If they follow that same pattern Thursday night, we’ll get our first look at Gonzalez in a game setting. The highly touted Oregon product has been a staple on the top defense since the start of training camp and has had some entertaining and competitive battles with big-bodied starting receiver DeVante Parker.

CB Jack Jones
Probably the most boom-or-bust player on the Patriots’ roster, questions hang over Jones in the wake of his June arrest on gun charges and bizarre ejection (?) from practice last week. But performance-wise, this has been a very good summer for Jones, who showcased his ball-hawking ability with pass breakups in seven of the first 11 competitive camp practices. It’s easy to picture him exploiting a mistake by Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and coming away with an early interception.

WR Demario “Pop” Douglas
The darling of training camp, Douglas is on track to earning a roster spot after flashing his route-running ability, sure hands, quickness and deceptive physicality in the first dozen practices. But, as position coach Troy Brown noted last week, the sixth-round rookie has yet to prove himself in an actual NFL game. Look for him to get plenty of run in the slot against Houston.

WR Kayshon Boutte
Boutte’s stock is soaring after a self-described slow start to training camp. The former LSU phenom showed up positively in four straight practices heading into Thursday night, with his Odell Beckham Jr.-esque touchdown catch on Day 11 standing out as one of the most impressive plays of camp to date. It’s too early to pencil Boutte into the 53-man roster, but if he keeps trending upward, the Patriots might have some difficult cutdown-day decisions to make at receiver.

WR Tyquan Thornton
Here’s one wideout who’s trending in the wrong direction. Thornton was limited in two practices last week and has seen far more team-period targets from Zappe than Mac Jones since his return. With Douglas and Boutte both rising, Thornton needs a solid preseason to avoid tumbling to the bottom of the receiver depth chart.

DE Keion White
Even in fully padded practices, it’s difficult to accurately judge defensive line play. It’s especially tough to evaluate pass rush, as actually sacking the QB is understandably forbidden. Thursday night will be our first true look at White, who projects as a versatile and disruptive addition to New England’s edge rusher rotation. The second-round pick stood out during padded practices with several would-be “sacks.” (Note: Third-round linebacker/safety Marte Mapu would be another young defender to watch, but he still was practicing in a red non-contact jersey this week and thus might not be ready to suit up.)

OL Atonio Mafi
The Patriots used three mid-round draft picks on offensive linemen, and Mafi has been the best of the bunch so far. The former UCLA D-tackle has been the biggest beneficiary of injuries to Mike Onwenu and Strange, which allowed him to log prominent reps at both guard positions this summer. Mafi, guard/center Jake Andrew and tackle Sidy Sow all should see plenty of playing time Thursday night.

WR/QB Malik Cunningham
Until recently, Cunningham almost exclusively practiced with Douglas, Boutte, Thornton and the rest of the Patriots’ receivers in his attempt to pull off a Julian Edelman-esque position change. But the former Louisville quarterback saw substantial reps behind center in each of the last two practices, opening the door for Cunningham to potentially play both positions against Houston. If he does take the field at QB after backups Zappe and Trace McSorley, look for him to add a level of mobility that none of New England’s top three signal-callers possess.

K Chad Ryland
As a fourth-round draft pick, Ryland is expected to beat out incumbent Nick Folk for a roster spot, and he’s already shown that his leg strength is far superior to Folk’s. Accuracy is vital for kickers, though, and Ryland will need to prove he can match Folk in that area for Belichick to feel comfortable cutting the steady veteran. Also keep an eye on rookie punter Bryce Baringer, who’s been launching some absolute moonshots in practice.