The Patriots kick off the pre-season tonight against the Washington Football Team. There will plenty of storylines heading into the game but the focus will be on the players.

Here are twelve players to watch tonight as the Patriots kick off the 2021 season.

1. Mac Jones, QB: All eyes will be on the rookie first round pick. The big thing I will be watching for is how he handles the speed of the game. He will probably play a quarter so we should get a good early look at him tonight.

2. Cam Newton, QB: Newton will probably play two to three series at the most. The things to look for when evaluating Newton are improved mechanics and anticipation in the passing game. He needs to be better in those areas.

If Newton is healthy, he should be much better in year two now that he has had an off-season in the system.

3. Matthew Judon, EDGE: Judon was brought in to spice up the pass rush. He has been impressive in camp thus far blending power and speed in one on ones. Judon probably won’t play more than two series but it will be a good opportunity to see the Patriots biggest defensive acquisition in action.

4. Christian Barmore, DT: The rookie has had an impressive camp. He looks explosive off the snap, strong at the point of attack and he dominates blockers one in one in drills. I would expect Barmore to play a fair amount tonight so we will get a good look at him.

5. N’Keal Harry, WR: Harry has had a good camp up until this point and the talk of him wanting out of New England has diminished. Being productive at practice and in a game setting are two different things. Harry should play a decent amount of snaps tonight. It will be interesting to see if he can put it together in a game setting.

6. Nelson Agholor, WR: Agholor may not play much tonight but if he does, I am looking to see how they use him. Will he line up exclusively in the slot? Will he line up at X and play split end? I expect the Patriots to move him around.

7. Jonnu Smith, TE: Smith should play a series or two and assuming he does, I would expect him to all over the place in terms of alignment. He’ll line up at Y, in the slot and as a wing. He may even line up split on the line. I think we will get a small sampling of how the Patriots plan to use him.

8. Josh Uche, LB: I really believe Uche will be an factor for the Patriots defensively this season. I expect them to use him in a variety of ways and in different packages. He will play off the ball and come off the edge on long down and distances.

Uche will be the Jonnu Smith of the defense. He will line up all over the place. I expect him to play a lot tonight.

9. Quin Nordin, K: Nordin has been one of the stars of camp so far and is seriously pushing Nick Folk to be the place kicker of the team. He will get all the kicks tonight. It will be interesting to see if he can build on what he has done in camp thus far. The leg strength and accuracy are there. Let’s see if he can be consistent and do it in games.

10. Troy Fumagalli, TE: Fumagalli has had a strong camp and the injury to Hunter Henry has created more practice reps and could lead to more game reps tonight. The race to be the third tight end is close. Fumagalli has a chance to impress tonight. He should play a fair amount of snaps.

11. J.J Taylor, RB: Taylor has been impressive thus far this summer. He has shown his trademark explosiveness and play making ability both as a returner and as a receiver out of the back field. He will play a lot tonight.

The Patriots recently released Tyler Gaffney so that will give Taylor a legitimate shot at making this roster as a third down back and returner.

12. Kristen Wilkerson, WR: Wilkerson is in the race to be one of the five receivers that make this team. He has impressed thus far with his speed, suddenness and ability to separate. Let’s see if he can do this in a game consistently.