The Patriots finally play their first exhibition game of 2016 Thursday night when they face the Saints at Gillette Stadium. And the temptation will be strong to overreact to what we see on the field.

All eyes will be on Jimmy Garoppolo in his third preseason. The battles at wide receiver, running back, and offensive line are fierce. But a good performance in a preseason game is not always indicative of who will make the 53-man roster.

There is no real game-planning for a preseason game; many starters sit out entirely, and blitzing is kept to a minimum.

“I’d say just because a player makes a couple of plays in preseason doesn’t necessarily . . . it depends on what the circumstances are — what the play is, who he made it against, so forth and so on,’’ Bill Belichick said this week. “Sometimes we make plays because they make mistakes, not necessarily because we made a play.’’

However, the preseason does offer a good opportunity to evaluate how players operate in pressurized game situations, and which players can fill specific roles. So as we sort through the position battles, here are five specific areas to monitor:

■ Which running backs can do the little things?

The best way to make the Patriots as a running back is to be a complete player. Not only run hard, follow the right blocks, and gain yards after contact, but also catch the football in competitive situations, function in pass protection, and contribute on special teams.

The Patriots are likely keeping Dion Lewis, LeGarrette Blount, and special teams ace Brandon Bolden, leaving one spot for James White, Donald Brown, Joey Iosefa, Tyler Gaffney, and rookie D.J. Foster.

Most notably, I want to see which running backs can make tough catches in traffic, particularly on wheel routes. The running back/linebacker matchup is a key one that the Patriots like to exploit, and the offense was dominant with Lewis in that matchup last year.

The offense was much less dominant with White, who caught only 5 of 16 targets in the AFC Championship game and couldn’t capitalize on several potential big plays in the fourth quarter.

Gaffney has gotten a lot of work in training camp and could be in line for a decent number of snaps against the Saints.

■ Which wide receivers can block and play special teams?

This is another position where the final roster spot likely will be decided by the player’s ability to do the little things. Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, and Malcolm Mitchell are locked into roster spots (assuming good health), leaving Keshawn Martin, Aaron Dobson, Chris Harper, Nate Washington, DeAndre Carter, and Devin Lucien battling for one spot.

The Patriots’ fifth receiver needs to have reliable hands and run crisp routes, of course, but he also likely will have to contribute on special teams.

Martin has great speed for a backup receiver, and can return kickoffs and punts. Harper has punt-return skills (last year’s regular-season game in Denver aside), and Carter and Lucien can likely help somewhere on the punt teams. But Dobson and Washington don’t have any special teams value, putting them at a significant disadvantage.

I also want to see if any of the receivers can throw his weight around in the run game — a good skill to have, particularly in cold-weather Foxborough games.

■ Which interior offensive linemen will play the most snaps?

We know that Nate Solder and either Sebastian Vollmer or Marcus Cannon are going to be the offensive tackles, but the interior of the line is still up for grabs at this point.

David Andrews, Bryan Stork, Josh Kline, Shaq Mason, Tre’ Jackson, Joe Thuney, and Ted Karras are fighting for three starting spots and five roster spots overall, meaning one or two familiar names won’t be with the team this fall.

I’m most interested in seeing which players get the most snaps at center, as there has been rotation among Andrews, Stork, Kline, and Karras. And I’m curious whether the Patriots will mix-and-match their line combinations throughout the game, or keep the units intact and try to develop some continuity, as they have through much of camp.

■ Can the Patriots generate any pass rush without blitzing?

The Patriots finished second in the NFL in sacks last year with 49, but they traded away 12.5 of them with Chandler Jones and just lost Rob Ninkovich for probably the first month of the regular season. They have several new edge rushers this year, and Ninkovich’s injury paves the way for Chris Long, Geneo Grissom, Trey Flowers, and Shea McClellin to get more playing time.

Do the Patriots have enough firepower coming off the edge to still be a dangerous defense? Against the Saints, I want to see which players can get to the quarterback not because of a confusing blitz but by beating their man one on one.

■ Jacoby Brissett.

The microscope will be on Garoppolo in a very important preseason for him, but let’s not forget about the rookie quarterback, the third-round pick. Brissett will get a lot of work in this preseason as well, and this will be a great opportunity for the Patriots to determine whether he is ready to be Garoppolo’s backup this year or whether they need to sign a veteran as insurance.

Brissett’s performance also can help determine whether the Patriots would feel comfortable trading Garoppolo next offseason.

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin