5 Players for Houston Fans to Watch vs. Vikings

The final preseason game is often nothing to write home about. The starters won't play much, if at all, and coaches strip down the playbook to the point that they resemble middle school playbooks.

Since the game as a whole isn't much to watch, you have to focus on individual players. Several fringe players fighting to make the roster will get their last chance to prove they belong. Backup players will get a ton of snaps to show what they could do if given a shot to play more regularly.

When watching the preseason finale between the Texans and Vikings, don't pay attention to the final score. Pay attention to these five players.

RB Ben Tate

The performance of Ben Tate in this preseason has been a big reason why there hasn't been too much panicking over Arian Foster's hamstring injury.

The second-round pick in the 2010 draft came into this year as an unknown after he missed all of last season. He is a mystery no more.

In the preseason so far, Tate has carried the ball 20 times for 147 yards. That's an average of 7.4 yards per rush.

Officially, Tate is still behind veteran Derrick Ward on the depth chart, but with another big performance in this game, it will be hard to keep Tate off the field once the regular season begins.

WR Bryant Johnson

The Texans' signing of Johnson was interesting to say the least. They would already seem to have great depth at the wide receiver position, and they have several young players on the roster that would seem like decent options to make the team even if they were looking for a spark.

Johnson, who is now 30 years old, has a lot to prove. He has been a career disappointment after being a first-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals back in 2003. With the Texans being his fourth NFL team, Johnson is dangerously close to being out of the league if he doesn't prove he has something left this season.

In a best-case scenario, Johnson could still be a productive receiver. As disappointing as he has been, he hasn't been all that bad in the grand scheme of things. He has five seasons of 40 or more receptions, and he even had a season in Arizona where he averaged over 18 yards per catch.

The key in this game will be for Johnson to establish a rhythm with quarterback Matt Schaub. He won't have much practice time before this game, so the Texans will have to get him involved in the offense early on. That's the only way you can expect him to be a factor come the start of the regular season.

LB Bryan Braman

When the Texans brought in undrafted rookie linebacker Bryan Braman, it was little more than a line on a transactions page. Just don't tell that to Braman. 

The former West Texas A&M Buffalo has taken it as nothing less than a chance to prove that he has a spot in this league. So far, he has made a pretty convincing argument.

He is tied for third on the team with eight tackles, and he has 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Stats don't really tell the whole story, though. Braman has spent just about all of his time in opposing backfields forcing quarterbacks make quick decisions they didn't want to make.

As well as Braman has played, he is a candidate to get caught up in a numbers game. The Texans have a lot of talent in their front seven, and even if he is kept on, it will be with one of the last spots available.

S Troy Nolan

Coming off a two-interception performance, Troy Nolan will be looking to further cement his status as a solid player in the defensive back rotation.

Danieal Manning is the assumed starter at strong safety and short of an injury, I don't think there's anything that can change that. If Nolan plays well yet again, though, the defensive coaches will have to take notice. With each play that he makes, the leash gets shorter on Manning and the other defensive backs ahead of Nolan.

The Texans' secondary seems much improved, but coming off their embarrassing performance last season, Nolan's performance is a breath of fresh air as they need all they help they can get.

RB Chris Ogbonnaya

The emergence of unheralded running back Chris Ogbannaya has added even more intrigue a running back position that has been the talk of Texans' camp.

After being considered little more than a warm body coming into training camp, Ogbonnaya has put himself into a position to play his way onto this team.

In the first preseason game, injuries left him as one of only two active running backs. The other had only been signed earlier that week, so Ogbannaya found himself as the unquestioned feature back. He responded by scoring two touchdowns—one on the ground and one as a receiver.

Arian Foster's injury helps his case greatly. There seems to be little concern that Foster's hamstring injury is anything more than a pull or strain, but those types of injuries can linger.

With another solid performance in the final preseason game, that uncertainty might just be enough to get Chris Ogbannaya on the roster.