DETROIT – The Detroit Lions open up the preseason Thursday night against the New York Jets. If you’re hoping to see a large dose of Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford or Golden Tate, you’re likely to be disappointed.

There are many players to pay attention to for the Lions, though, beginning with a rookie running back and a quarterback trying to win a job. Here are five of those main guys to watch against New York.

1.Ameer Abdullah: The second-round pick is quickly becoming the darling of Detroit Lions training camp, but his first big test comes Thursday night. He has looked sharp in practice so far, but the Lions haven’t been allowing too much hitting. That changes against the Jets. If the vision, decisiveness and patience he showed during camp also appears during games, Detroit should be very, very happy.

2.Kellen Moore: The Lions know what they have in Stafford. They have a good idea on Dan Orlovsky. Both should see some snaps, but don’t be surprised if Moore gets significant playing time against New York. The Lions need a better grasp of what he can do against higher-end players in games, and the Jets will give Detroit that option. The past couple of seasons have been mostly Moore against back-end roster players, so it’ll be interesting to see his progression there.

3.Caraun Reid: A lot has been made of the defensive tackle’s body transformation in the offseason following workouts with former Lions tackle Ndamukong Suh. He, along with Tyrunn Walker, is competing for the defensive tackle spot next to Haloti Ngata, and Lions coach Jim Caldwell said often he wanted to see Reid in pads. He has seen that the past week, but now he can get a gauge on how Reid’s moves work in game settings. I still think Walker wins the job, but this is a big step day for Reid.

4.Jeremy Ross: This is more about the return game than his receiving skills. He’s the team’s incumbent starter at returner with no lock on the job. He’ll likely get some chances early on to break off some returns and potentially show the job should still be his. This will be a competition lasting throughout the preseason, but I’m curious to see what Ross looks like in game action again. A bunch of fair catches – unless coverage dictates it – likely won’t win him the job.

5.George Winn/Zach Zenner: Cheating to make sure both of these guys get squeezed in here, but this is a sneaky battle for the No. 4 running back slot. Winn holds that job right now, but both players should see significant playing time against the Jets. The key here could be to see how many special teams both players end up being on. That will likely be the main role for the No. 4 back this season behind Joique Bell, Abdullah and Theo Riddick, so focus there as much as any statistics these two guys might rack up.

Others to watch heavily: Offensive tackle Michael Williams, offensive guard Laken Tomlinson, receiver TJ Jones, cornerbacks R.J. Stanford, Quandre Diggs and Crezdon Butler and linebacker Kyle Van Noy.