A.J. Cann, Cap Capi among not-so-obvious players to watch vs. Giants

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Here are five not-so-obvious players to watch in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ preseason game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET).

G A.J. Cann: Zane Beadles has been better at left guard but he is being pushed by Cann, the team’s third-round pick. The 6-foot-3, 313-pound Cann has been good in the run game, which is his strength, and has held his own as a pass-blocker. His presence has been good for Beadles because it has pushed him to be better. Cann is likely to play a lot against the Giants and it’s a good early glimpse of the player the Jaguars believe is the future at that position.

DE Cap Capi: The undrafted rookie from Akron had two sacks against the Steelers. Though they came against third- and fourth-teamers it was still notable because he has flashed at times during training camp. Barring any other injuries Capi won’t make the 53-man roster but he is a practice squad candidate and a player the Jaguars could keep around and see if he develops.

SS Josh Evans: With the injury to Johnathan Cyprien (broken finger), Craig Loston will start, but Evans will get equal reps. Evans played free safety in his first two seasons and was moved to strong safety when the team signed Sergio Brown in March and drafted James Sample in May. Evans has made 144 tackles, including 90 last season, and has broken up two passes in 31 games over the past two seasons. The competition to be Cyprien’s top backup will continue throughout the rest of the preseason and Evans could be in jeopardy of not making the roster.

LB Jeremiah George: Coach Gus Bradley said George will get more work at middle linebacker this week while Thurston Armbrister, an undrafted rookie from Miami who has been working as Paul Posluszny’ s top backup in the middle, will get more work at the Otto (strongside linebacker) spot. The Jaguars tried to use George in place of Posluszny last season, but he suffered an ankle injury in his first game in that role. George missed three games and played sparingly on defense after that. It looks like the final two linebacker spots will come down to Armbrister, George and Khairi Fortt.

TE Clay Harbor: It was an up-and-down performance for Harbor in last week’s preseason opener. He dropped what would have been a touchdown pass from Blake Bortles, but made a nice catch along the sideline on a pass from Chad Henne that went for a touchdown. With Julius Thomas out, Harbor will likely take over his role as the move tight end, though Ben Koyack and Connor Hamlett will get some reps as well. Though most of the attention at tight end has been centered on Thomas and Marcedes Lewis, Harbor should still have a significant role this season.