It's undeniably important that preseason action can be a small key to a rookie's development, whether they're a first or a seventh-round pick.
TreVeyon Henderson made quite a splash in his first preseason game in a Patriots' uniform, returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the 48-18 win against Washington, showing off the speed and explosiveness that New England hopes translates to the regular season.
Henderson could be one of the playmakers Patriots' fans have been waiting to see for years, and the traits he showed on Friday against the Commanders indicated that Eliot Wolf made the right choice to draft him, and the Patriots got an absolute steal early in the second round.
But now that we know what Henderson can do, how much more of him will we see before the games count for real?
The case to not play TreVeyon Henderson much - if at all - until Week 1
Game reps do matter, but there's a reason why teams don't tend to play their starters much during the preseason. In the case of the Patriots, the third game of the 2017 preseason comes to mind, when Julian Edelman tore his ACL in Detroit.
I'm not saying that's going to happen to Henderson, but now that Mike Vrabel and company have gotten a good taste of what he'll bring to the offense, Henderson could be a guy you don't risk putting out there before Week One against Las Vegas.
Stefon Diggs, who was brought in as a free agent to give Drake Maye a quality number one receiver, likely won't see much of the field during the preseason, if at all. While Diggs is coming off a torn ACL, that's a small case in point that you don't risk something serious happening to Henderson.
New England's young core has looked strong throughout camp, and that includes Henderson. Some have said they wouldn't be shocked to see him supplant Rhamondre Stevenson as the team's top running back before the end of the season, but Henderson needs to be healthy to do so.
At most, you play him for a series or two in each game, then put him in a baseball cap on the sidelines. Henderson is too talented and valuable to waste reps on during games that don't count.