3 Rookies to Watch vs Bengals

The youngsters will probably play their most important game of the preseason on Thursday night. Here's who we'll be checking for.

While most people see the dress rehearsal as the third preseason game, more and more coaches across the NFL have shifted their focus to how players perform in the second one. That, of course, will be this Thursday for the Washington Redskins when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Here's who we will be checking for from the Class of 2019.

Of course, all eyes will be on QB Dwayne Haskins to see how he evolves from the roller coaster performance of the opener in which he zinged a few great passes and was egregiously off target on others. But these are the guys who will likely be asked to do major things early in the season. This is who we need to watch. 

1 - OLB Montez Sweat: Sweat sat out the preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, but he's going to debut on Thursday night. His snap count is unknown, but it's easy to see him getting between 15-20 snaps. What will that mean for the coaching staff?  Washington has a sound starting duo of Ryan Kerrigan and Ryan Anderson already, meaning Sweat will most likely be a rotational piece during the first half of the season. I want to see if they play him on either side of the formation, how violent his hands are in being able to disengage from blockers and how well he backpedals when in coverage. Run support will come, but those three things will go a long way to determining his viability early in the year.

2 - CB Jimmy Moreland: Moar Moreland, all the time. How anyone could come away from the first preseason game and not be completely impressed with Moreland is above me, now. He had two pass breakups and a batted ball and forced two fumbles, one on the goal line and one on a completion. There's clearly room to improve, as he gave up catches on the six other times he was targeted, but the kid is coming from James Madison, that debut was downright iconic. How well he does in being physical with wideouts and sticking with the bigger ones in coverage at just 5-foot-10 will determine whether or not he'll be a niche player in the league.

3 - WR Terry McLauin: McLaurin might as well be making his debut Thursday after just one snap against the Browns. The Buckeyes have churned out some impressive wideout prospects over the last several years and McLaurin needs to be that guy in Washington. Unfortunately, most rookie wideouts take some time to excel in the pros. I'll be watching for the diversity of his route tree, just how much is being asked of him this early in his career. One-trick ponies don't do well in the league and until he is diverse enough to fool smart defensive backs, his learning curve will be steep.