Most Important Players to Keep an Eye on in Each of Friday's NFL Preseason Games

Week 1 of the preseason is about as vanilla as things get in the NFL.

There are no game plans, starters play a series or two and teams are simply feeling each other out while simultaneously shaking off offseason rust.

Week 2 isn't exactly the regular-season dress rehearsal that is the third exhibition game, but at least starters typically see the field for a half, and the intensity is cranked up another level.

Andy Dalton, A.J. Green and Matt Ryan shined on Thursday night, and Brandon Weeden appeared more comfortable in the pocket against the Packers.

There are six games Friday night, so there are plenty of players to watch in each game.

For this article, I've narrowed the focus to one player per team from each contest.

Titans at Buccaneers: Jake Locker and LeGarrette Blount

Titans: Jake Locker

Locker was given the starting nod by head coach Mike Munchak earlier this week, so now is the time for the 2011 first-rounder to morph some of that potential we always hear about into on-field production. He outplayed incumbent Matt Hasselbeck in Week 1, but Locker still ran with the second unit.

Against a Buccaneers secondary that is far from intimidating, the former Washington Husky has a prime opportunity to take a significant lead in the quarterback competition.

If he plays well tonight, the QB battle will go from "dead even" to "Jake's job to lose."

Buccaneers: LeGarrette Blount

Yeah, yeah, you want to watch Doug Martin's development within Greg Schiano's ground-and-pound rushing attack. While the 2012 first-rounder is undoubtedly intriguing, what's more compelling is the way Blount is making sure he doesn't lose the starting job.

He slightly outperformed Martin in the win over the Dolphins a week ago, and according to this tweet from the Buccaneers' official Twitter account, Schiano isn't ready to hand Martin the first-string gig:

"

Coach Schiano says the Bucs' backfield is still a "fluid situation." He won't force it, and will let the lead back emerge.

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@TBBuccaneers) August 11, 2012"

If Blount again demonstrates a keen knack for picking up extra yardage after contact and proves his value as a first- and second-down runner, Tampa Bay's running back competition could get extremely interesting.

Dolphins at Panthers: Ryan Tannehill and Luke Kuechly

Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill

In less than two weeks, Tannehill has gone from No. 3 on the Dolphins' depth chart to starting the second preseason game.

David Garrard's knee surgery helped, but the live-armed rookie was more productive in the team's preseason opener against the Bucs than 2011 starter Matt Moore. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 167 yards with a touchdown strike to tight end Charles Clay after instant replay ruled a Roberto Wallace TD incomplete.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that Tannehill can lock up the job tonight if he puts in another solid effort.

Panthers: Luke Kuechly

Kuechly's forced fumble in Week 1 of the preseason against the Texans is what the masses saw on SportsCenter, but he didn't exactly piece together a sound performance the rest of the time he was on the field.

As B/R's NFL Lead Writer Michael Schottey points out with pictures and analysis in this insightful column, Kuechly "has a lot of work left to do before he becomes the player the Panthers wanted ninth overall."

Look to see if the former Boston College standout shows improvement diagnosing plays and, more importantly, shedding blocks to make tackles near the line of scrimmage.

Lions at Ravens: Joique Bell and Joe Flacco

Lions: Joique Bell

Lions running back Mikel Leshoure returned to practice this week after sitting out the entire 2011 season with a torn Achilles tendon, some good news for a team desperately looking to add a rushing complement to its dynamic passing attack.

While Leshoure—if he doesn't face suspension for two offseason arrests—is penciled into the feature back role, don't forget about Joique Bell.

Undrafted out of Wayne State in 2010, Bell ran 16 times for 89 yards in Detroit's preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns. If he continues to impress the coaches, he could find himself on the final 53-man roster and could potentially carry the ball during the regular season.

Ravens: Joe Flacco

With the Ravens, you're always monitoring the play of Flacco.

Is he elite?

Is he a game manager?

Thus far in his career, he falls somewhere between those two distinctions. In his 2012 preseason debut, he completed nine of 12 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Entering a significant season in his career, Flacco is still looking to prove the doubters wrong.

Bills at Vikings: Vince Young and Toby Gerhart

Bills: Vince Young

Ryan Fitzpatrick is entrenched as the Bills' starting quarterback, but a surprisingly close backup signal-caller battle has emerged between Young and Tyler Thigpen.

Because Young's the bigger name and Thigpen disappointed in training camp, preseason and the few instances in which he saw the field in 2011, everyone thought Young would win the backup job without much opposition.

That hasn't been the case in this year's training camp, and both quarterbacks were awful in the preseason opener against the Redskins. Young and Thigpen will get an even number of snaps tonight, according to head coach Chan Gailey, so the play of each is worth monitoring.

Vikings: Toby Gerhart

Yes, Adrian Peterson is a physical freak and has rapidly recovered from a completely blown knee. He's returned to practice, but expect the Vikings to be extremely cautious with the face of their franchise.

Against the 49ers a week ago, Gerhart looked good, rushing for 31 yards on five carries.

If he displays another steady performance, Minnesota may not be as quick to rush AP back as initially expected.

Jaguars at Saints: Justin Blackmon and Travaris Cadet

Jaguars: Justin Blackmon

After a lengthy holdout that made him the final 2012 draftee to sign his rookie deal, Blackmon makes his preseason debut with the Jaguars tonight.

It'll be interesting to see how much more physically talented he is than the rest of Jacksonville's receiving corps and if his presence will increase the productivity of quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

Gabbert needs as much help as he can get, and the Jaguars traded up in the first round to get that help.

Saints: Travaris Cadet

Cadet remains a long shot to make the roster, but he's contributed on the ground and in the passing game in the team's first two preseason games.

Though he ran the ball nine times for only 26 yards against the Patriots, he caught six passes for 29 yards on eight targets out of the backfield.

The Saints' running back committee is seemingly at full membership right now, but Cadet's inspired play could give coaches something to think about come cut day.

Raiders at Cardinals: Rod Streater and John Skelton

Raiders: Rod Streater

The undrafted wideout from Temple was the surprising star of an otherwise ugly 3-0 preseason loss to the Cowboys on Monday Night Football earlier this week.

He had eight passes thrown his way and finished with six grabs for 66 yards that included an 18-yard reception.

Oakland has a trio of speedy wideouts, but Streater, if he can remain dependable during the preseason, could emerge as the No. 4 receiver who fits into the chain-moving role.

Cardinals: John Skelton

Everyone wants to watch Kevin Kolb, but I'm ready to see if Skelton takes a valiant step to seize the starting job from the once big-name free-agent acquisition.

Kolb has been downright awful this preseason, but Skelton hasn't done anything to make the coaches confidently name him the starter.

This could be a swing game for both quarterbacks.