Written By: A.J. McDaniel

The NFL season is almost here! Here are FIVE players to look at during the preseason!

Deshaun Watson- Deshaun Watson, picked 12th overall pick by the Houston Texans in the NFL Draft, is looking to take the starting job after Brock Osweiler led a less-than-satisfying season last year after being offered a ridiculous contract for the less-than-exciting player he was. Deshaun is coming out of college with two CFB championship appearances and one championship victory. He is in a battle for the starting job against Tom Savage after Osweiler was traded to Cleveland so that Houston wouldn’t have to deal with his contract anymore. Deshaun Watson is on my early list of possible candidates for rookie of the year this season.

Jay Cutler vs Matt Moore-  Former Chicago Bears quarterback, Jay Cutler, officially retired earlier this year. But once Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill injured his knee, Cutler decided to come out of retirement and play for his former coach, Adam Gase. But like it is every time a team brings in a replacement, the man who was next in line for that position feels a little cheated and can this can potentially push them to the next level of play to compete with the new guy. This will be an interesting challenge because, and I will be totally honest, I have never thought of “Smokin’ Jay Cutty” as a good quarterback. Now I’m not saying current backup QB Matt Moore is much better, but I think he has more potential and has been able to play at a higher level than Jay can. I see a position battle that may extend even into the regular season. The moment that the man who gets the start makes one missed step, Adam Gase will not hesitate to switch up quarterbacks!

Cleveland Browns- As many people know, the Cleveland Browns played atrociously last season going 1-15. Last year, nothing at all went right for them. With a few new pickups and draft picks such as Jabrill Peppers, Myles Garrett, and Deshone Kizer, the Browns future is looking bright. Peppers and Garrett will be playing on defense, where they’ll be hoping to cause havoc for a defense that ranked in the lower half in defensive statistics in EVERY SINGLE DEFENSIVE CATEGORY, according to pro-football-reference.com. Kizer will be competing against Cody Kessler and Brock Osweiler for the starting quarterback job. And after week one of the preseason, we saw that Kizer looked more than ready for the job, dropping a beautiful 52-yard bomb to Richard Mullaney (https://twitter.com/Browns/status/895835800755027968). The future looks bright in Cleveland. 

Mitch Trubisky- Trubisky, who was the second pick in the NFL Draft, has already played in his first pre-season game where he threw the ball like a seasoned veteran. Which was surprising considering last year when he played at North Carolina, he was only given the starting position in his senior year. While this lack of experience isn’t something I’m going to dissect, mainly because of the second-overall pick last year Carson Wentz. Carson was a D-2 player in College and was not given much of an opportunity to throw the ball, but he did lead that team to two national championships. Mitch Trubisky will try to earn the starting spot, a position already being handed to veteran Mike Glennon. Mitch proved himself much better than Mike in his three drives at quarterback where he helped put up 17 points. Mitch is on my list of rookies that will be named starters by the start of the 2017 season. But I will not put him on my list for rookie of the year candidate. When you look at the Chicago Bears, they do have a new good quarterback and have picked up Victor Cruz to try and add a good threat at wide receiver. Cruz caught the first touchdown in the preseason game vs the Broncos. But what they are lacking is a full roster of star players. If you look at teams that are winning super bowls, or even competing for super bowls, they have multiple talents at wide receiver, a premier quarterback, a solid running back, and a top tier defense. Now I’m not saying you need a super bowl contending team to win a rookie of the year title, but you need to win games and I think the Bears defense will hold back Mitch from making that list unless he really shines bright this year.

Leonard Fournette- Fournette is definitely the riskiest draft pick in a long time. Now, every single draft pick is a gamble but Leonard has a bit more history that goes with his name coming off the draft board, mostly in the medical field. Back in 2015, Leonard was a front runner for the Heisman Trophy. As time would pass, he would also be passed up and the Heisman Trophy would go to Derrick Henry. After coming back expected to break out and take the Heisman without question,  would sprain his ankle in a 2016 pre-season scrimmage. This injury is something the Jaguars should be keeping their eye on. If he can get fully healthy, Leonard can make a huge name for himself out in his new home.

What do you think about these predictions for the preseason? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @teenviewmag