Throughout the preseason, we heavily emphasize identifying potential impact players throughout the season that others may not recognize as they aren't necessarily "stars". In our 'Preseason Players to Watch' series, we highlight potentially noteworthy players in each night's game(s) that may be impactful for fantasy football, both in the 2024 season and beyond.

Here are our top players to watch for in tonight's preseason action:

Drake Maye (QB - New England Patriots) - vs PHI, 7:00 PM on NFL Network

We didn't get much of a look at either starter Jacoby Brissett or the rookie Drake Maye in the Patriots' preseason opener with each QB getting just one drive and 3 pass attempts, but one would expect an extended look at both Brissett and Maye with the starters this week as the Patriots' coaching staff looks to solidify their decision on a Week 1 starter.

HC Jerod Mayo did say to "expect Drake to get more reps than he did in the first game," but in particular, how many reps and how early should give an indication as to whether the Patriots' coaching staff truly believes there is a competition for Week 1, if the plan is to let Maye sit and learn, and how soon we should expect to see Maye if he isn't the starter in Week 1.

A lot of questions, many of which we won't get answers for but likely a hint towards, but more so it will be worth watching to see how Maye actually performs, seeing as we didn't get much of a look last week.

Antonio Gibson (RB - New England Patriots) - vs PHI, 7:00 PM on NFL Network

It looks like the pecking order for the Patriots' RB room is pretty definitive as of now with Rhamondre Stevenson as the clear number 1, Gibson as the RB2/change-of-pace back, and Kevin Harris as the third RB/short-yardage option.

The preseason opener backed up those narratives from camp with Stevenson taking the entirety of the work on the opening series with the starters, then ceding to Gibson, who played the majority of the 2nd drive and the beginning of the 3rd drive, at which point Harris took over. Neither Gibson (4 for 4 yards) nor Harris (8 for 22 yards, TD) was notably efficient on the ground and both got work via the air with Gibson drawing a catch (1 target) for 13 yards and Harris drawing a catch (3 targets) for 6 yards.

One would expect a lengthier set of work for the starters (Stevenson) than the lone drive in the preseason opener and within that, I am really looking to see what the split is between Stevenson and Gibson on the 3rd down/receiving down opportunities. What that split looks like could be a dictating factor on whether the RB situation is cloudy for fantasy purposes (which could lead to sneaky late-round value for Gibson) or if Stevenson has a true stronghold on the opportunities, in which case he (Stevenson) could be a very undervalued pick.

Kenneth Gainwell (RB - Philadelphia Eagles) - at NE, 7:00 PM on NFL Network

There's no question that Saquon Barkley is both the lead back and the definitive workhorse in Philadelphia, but there does appear to be a competition for the backup/change-of-pace duties behind Barkley.

Barkley didn't play in the preseason opener and it's TBD on whether he will get much, if any, action in Week 2 of the preseason, but we certainly should get to see more of the competition for the RB2 role between veteran Kenneth Gainwell and rookie Will Shipley.

Gainwell started the preseason opener and was very effective (4 for 23 yards, 5.8 YPC) in about a series and a half of work. The RB duties were then ceded to Will Shipley (7 for 23 yards, 1 catch for a 7-yard TD), who finished off the 2nd drive and played the remainder of the 1st half.

It would appear as if Gainwell has the clear edge early on in the preseason, but it will definitely be worth watching to see if he maintains that definitive advantage as the backup/handcuff role in Philadelphia could be valuable given Barkley's history of injuries.