
The preseason is officially upon us. If you are like me—a little bit sick in the head—you thoroughly enjoyed watching Trey Lance play quarterback for the Chargers in the Hall of Fame Game. Lance, wildly, is just a few months older than Bo Nix, and still has a high ceiling in professional football, but just needs more repetitions than he’s had the opportunity to earn on a title contender and, afterward, a desperate Cowboys team with a coach who wasn’t going to waste time on developing a quarterback. He made some notable touch throws between converging defenders Thursday night and was quick to visit his immediate options. This wasn’t the same quarterback who tended to linger in the backfield during his early appearances with the 49ers—at least against a half-asleep Lions defense in the least competitive game of the football season.
Anyway, that’s why we enjoy preseason football. It’s obscure, but there are sometimes breadcrumbs to a relevant future. I’d bet you that within three or four years, Lance is an everyday starter in the NFL à la Geno Smith; someone who just needed some time and the right mentor in order to turn the corner. Not all the preseason action is going to provide us with the same insight, but we’re going to watch nonetheless.
Here are 10 people and things I’m watching for starting on Thursday with the first true slate of preseason games and a little bit about why I think it matters.
1. Riley Leonard
Let’s get this out of the way—I’m not one of those people who thinks the Notre Dame prospect is going to unseat either Daniel Jones or Anthony Richardson. But this item and the next one have a similar flavor. Leonard got the Fighting Irish out of so much trouble this past season with his legs: 184 carries, nearly 1,000 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. He averaged more than 50 rushing yards per game. The Colts had a meager 53% conversion rate in the red zone this past season, with Richardson not really living up to the hype as a bulldozer with touch. I think coaches will be warming more to the idea of using red zone-specific quarterbacks in the future and Leonard is a great curiosity in that regard. He’s had a good camp and is coming off a national championship game that, over the course of the second half, showcased his decision-making skills against a great defense in total chaos. Can that translate?
2. Jalen Milroe
Milroe, it’s no secret, was my favorite pick of the draft. In a sea of uncertainty, I cannot believe he lasted until the third round. There is so much there there. He’s a sub-4.4 rusher who scored more rushing touchdowns than Omarion Hampton at North Carolina—and Hampton went in the first round. Similar to Leonard, I think Milroe could play in the red zone on a consistent basis and should, especially if the Seattle offense goes stagnant. We’ve seen big-bodied, big-armed quarterbacks tend to succeed during the preseason, especially as players have not been tackling and many of them have not seen a prospect of this size and speed at their own respective camps. That’s why I think Milroe will at least make the waning weeks of summer interesting. He reportedly had the kitchen sink thrown at him schematically by Mike Macdonald, who is one of the brightest defensive coaches in the league. A vanilla look from the Raiders and Pete Carroll should pale in comparison.
3. Kristian Wilkerson
The Bills’ recent addition was highlighted by GM Brandon Beane following a recent training camp interview. I’m not going to use this as a platform to criticize Buffalo’s receiving corps, but I’m going to recognize that the team—similar to the Chiefs—is allowing Josh Allen to more organically groom those around him. With Khalil Shakir out, the bottom of this roster is going to become more critical than ever in terms of formulating that fourth and fifth receiver spot. And if you think that doesn’t matter, consider how balanced the target share was for the technical “WR2” of Buffalo’s offense behind Shakir. Keon Coleman, Mack Hollins and Curtis Samuel were all in that mid-40 to mid-50 target range. Amari Cooper joined the fold and notched another 30 targets. I think there’s a difference between having a barren wide receiver room and a wide receiver room in which one can carve out an opportunity. Buffalo is the latter.
4. Titans’ offensive line depth
We’ve seen this with teams like the Jets that were in a position to draft a quarterback in the first place; that usually signifies there are pressing depth issues on the roster elsewhere. The Titans made one of the biggest perceived reaches in the offseason by signing Dan Moore. However, Moore has been something of a stalwart in camp, at least according to reports, and seems to have taken to Bill Callahan’s common-sense numerical method of blocking. But when part of your plan hinges on a 35-year-old at guard and an offense that runs heavy 11-personnel without a great blocking tight end, depth is one of the most important life rafts for keeping a season afloat. A Week 1 matchup against the Bucs, where Todd Bowles may ask some of his ancillary pieces to rush the passer like he does his starters, could provide a bit of an answer as to how Callahan and the Titans’ offensive line is faring.
5. Efton Chism
I’m a sucker for a good make-the-roster story. The Patriots are trying to move on from the Bill Belichick era strategically but Belichick holdover offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has asked a shifty, Lilliputian wide receiver to watch cut-ups of Danny Amendola in order to learn his route tree. And, man, does Chism give off some Amendola vibes. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love this?
WR Efton Chism was tasked with watching a cut up of some Danny Amendola routes a couple days ago by Josh McDaniels.
— Patrick Scanlon (@patrickscanlon_) August 4, 2025
These routes are straight from the Amendola/Edelman tree. In a packed receiving room, let's see if Chism can separate himself over the preseason, and make the cut. pic.twitter.com/okMsXUqAW3
This is worth monitoring given the fact that the Patriots have some high-profile names at the wide receiver position who are on last chances with the Mike Vrabel regime rolling in. Chism, an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Washington, could be one of those tone-setting camp surprises that sets the expectation for the rest of the roster.
6. Tyler Loop
The Ravens are reportedly using Trackman data for Loop, the rookie kicker and sixth-round pick out of Arizona. Trackman is popular among golfers to measure ball distance, but was also one of the initial pieces of technology that launched the Astros’ dynasty (sans trashcan). Loop is also wearing a GoPro when he kicks field goals. The entire thing feels very Ivan Drago, or, at the very least, a way for the Ravens to aggressively instill confidence and perfectionism in the post–Justin Tucker era at the position. Loop reportedly had a kick in practice last week that data showed would have been good from 67 yards. I am not putting Loop on this list to opine about whether he might struggle, or if he develops some cold feet. Quite the opposite. Everything about him so far has been inching toward folklore, with the resurfacing of a 75-yarder he hit on a tee at Arizona. Loop drilled a 60-yarder in practice in a simulated pressure situation. John Harbaugh, the special teams man at heart, will test his kicker in the coming days.
7. Isaac TeSlaa
Had I done a Hall of Fame Game preview, I would have mentioned TeSlaa, an under-the-radar pick from Arkansas. The rookie wideout is reportedly getting into the mix with the Lions’ first string and didn’t look a bit out of place with the Chargers, logging catches on two of his three targets. I was most curious about how TeSlaa’s size was going to translate, though. Like Giants running back Cam Skattebo, you always wonder about how physicality translates. It’s almost impossible to gauge until you see him collide with another NFL player, and I was pleased to see that slight flavoring of George Kittle when he leaned into a Chargers defender after the catch last Thursday. What I’m most intrigued to keep an eye on specifically is his blocking. The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy said TeSlaa had a block in practice that was so loud and violent, “you could hear it from Grand Rapids.” That could be a critical ingredient to Detroit’s offense when we talk about diversification. TeSlaa has the size to effectively turn the Lions from an 11-personnel team into a 12-personnel team if he can hone that violence and physicality.
8. Chip Kelly!
The Raiders are playing starters this weekend, which means an actual moment in which Chip Kelly is calling plays for Geno Smith. Anyone who has been a reader or follower over the past 14 years knows the joy that having Kelly back on an NFL sideline brings me. I very literally remember exactly where I was when I watched the Eagles-Patriots preseason opener in 2013 when Kelly marched down the field and scored on a long pass from Michael Vick to DeSean Jackson. The offense looked incredibly vanilla schematically but what I think gets lost is how evolved it was for the time. Look at this 2014 clip of the Kellystrator show, which features a touchdown to LeSean McCoy in the preseason that has so many of the ingredients we now view as commonplace in the NFL. Some of this backfield motion has been gussied up a little bit by the likes of Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay and Mike McDaniel, but Kelly was playing with the possibilities of outside zone around the same time—and possibly a bit beforehand. We also have evidence of early RPO usage from Kelly in the preseason long before the Eagles rode it to a Super Bowl.
9. Mac Jones
It wasn’t long ago that we all penciled Jones into a 49ers uniform at pick No. 3 in the 2021 NFL draft (speaking of Trey Lance). Jones seemed to have the quick processing skills that Shanahan coveted when, in reality, Shanahan was looking to diversify his offense with a QB run game—an evolution that eludes him to this day. However, Jones eventually made his way to San Francisco via New England and Jacksonville, landing one of the more prominent quarterback internships in the NFL. If this seems insignificant, consider that nearly all of Shanahan’s backups—Nick Mullens, C.J. Beathard, Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold—have all started games after being in San Francisco. The latter two earned massive extensions this offseason. While it may have slipped our minds a bit, quarterback play falls off a cliff a bit in the NFL when we pass the Baker Mayfield/Matthew Stafford meridian. Afterward, it’s question mark after question mark, leaving a vacuum for a former toolsy quarterback who got a solid mental reset with a great NFL coach to step into.
10. Travis Hunter
We’ll save the most obvious for last. I don’t know if Hunter will play, but isn’t that part of the debate? Hunter has reportedly been phenomenal in practice, with position switches mid-period. We know how a team can orchestrate that on its own turf, but we have less of an idea of what it might look like when one coach isn’t responsible for the organization of everyone. If first-year head coach Liam Coen opts not to play Hunter, it’s worth wondering about his level of faith in the process sans live reps. It’s also a debate if Coen does play Hunter, considering the fact that he’ll likely be one of the most snapped players in the NFL this season, assuming the plan remains the same.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 10 Things to Watch in Week 1 of NFL Preseason .