The Miami Dolphins will close out the preseason this Saturday night in Jacksonville against the Jaguars.  It will be the final tune up for the team before they take on the Los Angeles Chargers in a little over two weeks.  

It will be a chance a bit of a longer look at the starters before the real action begins.  It will also serve as a last chance for those battling for back-end roster spots to make their case to the coaching staff that they should be on the 53-man roster. 

Here are five things to watch on Saturday night…

5) How sharp will the starters look? 

Let's be real.  Most fans will be tuning in to see just how effective Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and the rest of the starters will look.  According to Mike McDaniel, that will be somewhere between a couple of series and a full half.  

Last week in Houston was a mixed bag for the Dolphins' starting offense, as Tua threw a first-play interception before engineering a methodical touchdown drive the next series.  

The defense was also solid against Houston but will be going up against one of the best emerging offenses in the league in the Jaguars.  Doug Pederson stated he plans to play his starters, including Trevor Lawrence, for up to two quarters, so the Dolphins' defense will have a significant test to end the preseason.

4) Will any tight end step up? 

Durham Smythe is the incumbent #1, but neither he nor the rest of the room have done anything special in the preseason.  Elijah Higgins has been the most impressive receiver of the group through two preseason games, and he's likely right around the cut line.  Another impressive showing on Saturday could go a long way to making the roster next week. 

It would be nice to see something more from Tyler Kroft on Saturday, and he should get the chance with Eric Saubert dealing with an injury.  Julian Hill could do himself a favor with a good outing after turning some heads in training camp.  Otherwise, wandering eyes might need to be had around the league as soon as cuts are announced.  

3) Does Miami have the defensive line depth it needs, or will they need to look elsewhere?

Speaking of looking elsewhere, the Dolphins might be kicking the tires on some defensive linemen on Tuesday (cut down day), unless someone can show Chris Grier, Mike McDaniel, and Vic Fangio that they don't need to be.  And that's not an out-of-left-field assertion from this author.  Fangio commented on the lack of quality depth during training camp, and through two preseason games no one has come in screaming hot to make their roster spot certain. 

Da'Shawn Hand, Brandon Pili, and Jalen Twyman shouldn't feel safe, as at least one of them almost certainly won't make the roster on Tuesday.  It will be interesting to see if any of them can steal the show on Saturday night and seal up a roster spot – or if the uncertainty will remain until cut down day. 

2) How does the left side of the offensive line look?

With Terron Armstead still recovering from an injury scare against Houston, it should be the Kendall Lamm show at left tackle Saturday night. Lamm appears to have the swing tackle job on lock down. The question is whether he'll be able to fill in adequately if Armstead isn't ready to go Week 1. 

Next to him, the battle for the left guard spot remains, with Liam Eichenberg and Isaiah Wynn as the primary candidates.  Lester Cotton and Robert Jones have also been in the mix, but Jones is out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury, and Cotton missed the Houston game with an undisclosed injury.  

A lot of uncertainty, with hopefully a clearer answer after Saturday night. 

1) Who makes the best case to start at cornerback? 

At this point, Xavien Howard's spot is obviously locked in and Kader Kohou is all but the same in the slot, so the obvious question is: who's the last starter?  The push between Eli Apple, Noah Igbinoghene, and Cam Smith should be fun to watch on Saturday night. 

Smith's shoulder injury was very untimely, as he appeared to be making good momentum towards the starting job.  He may still get that opportunity, as he was cleared for contact earlier this week, but Miami is finally starting to get some good reps from their former first round pick Igbinoghene, so that could be an interesting competition to watch even through the first month of the season. Apple also will have something to say about that battle. 

Featured image via Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports