What we’d like to see in the Cleveland Browns preseason opener

The Cleveland Browns open their preseason schedule on Thursday and despite some of the starters not expected to play, there are several things to watch for.

Although there could not be anything more irrelevant than the score of an NFL exhibition game, there are several things that Cleveland Browns fans, front office and coaching staff would like to see in the exhibition opener on Thursday.

What they could care less about is the score. Let us not forget that former head coach Hue Jackson ran the table in the preseason in 2017, winning all four exhibition games….and then ran off 16-straight regular season losses.

Nor ought we care about getting individual performances from the likes of Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham, Jr., Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb. They are quality players and they will be fine. Let them save up their energy for the wear and tear of the regular season.

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Nevertheless there are several items that fans can look for.

1. Dontrell Hillard needs to gain some yards on the ground.  In a small data sample last year, Hilliard was very productive, snagging nine of ten balls thrown to him.  There is no doubt he can catch the ball coming out of the backfield. However, he did not have a single carry in the regular season, and his exhibition game stats last year were not very impressive: 30 carries for only 82 yards, an average of 2.7 yards per carry. That is reminiscent of Willis McGahee. But if he can show that he can be a threat on the ground, he will get some playing time this year.

2. David Njoku needs to block some guys. We know that Njoku is very athletic, but is he capable of the down and dirty blocking required of an NFL tight end? Former Browns general manager Sashi Brown was very high on this kid, which is another reason for Browns fans to be nervous.

3. Austin Corbett needs to block some other guys. Although John Dorsey walked on water last year, not everything he did turned out well. In particular, Corbett, at the 33rd overall pick, was expected to be a quality starter, as the scouts loved his quickness and ability to be a pulling guard.  The only problem is he is struggling to be a good blocker. The last Browns lineman to succeed who was selected in the draft was Joel Bitonio in 2014. The Browns drafted the likes of Cameron Erving, Shon Coleman, Spencer Drango, Roderick Johnson and now Corbett. Who is scouting college linemen for the Browns?

4. Chad Thomas needs to tackle a few players. Like Corbett, Thomas was drafted on Day 2 last year (67th overall), but disappeared when the season started. Can this kid play? Also like Corbett, the Browns have an established tradition of drafting sackmeister defensive linemen every year (Xavier Cooper, Nate Orchard, Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib, to name a few from the last five years), but Myles Garrett is the only one they have gotten right.

5. Austin Seibert needs to kick a few footballs through some goal posts. This kid is the most highly touted kicker the Browns have had since, uh….Zane Gonzalez?  Word is that Seibert has struggled kicking field goals even in practice, but the ball makes a very loud sound when he kicks it.

6. Garrett Gilbert needs to toast some defensive backs. Garrett was the top-rated passer in the Alliance of Awful Football (AAF). He has been in the NFL as a backup since 2014, and spent some time with the Patriots and Tom Brady. He had almost 10,000 yards passing in college but also threw 45 interceptions. Maybe he has finally figured the game out a little bit. If he plays really well he may have a future as the third-string quarterback this year and could be second-string next year. Hopefully, he will not be needed, but you always want to have more than one quality quarterback on the roster. Ask the Philadelphia Eagles, who won the Super Bowl with their backup quarterback.