The quarterbacks.
Yes, of course, we’re all going to be watching the men under center – every move thy make, really – as the Browns open the preseason when they host the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.
We’re especially going to be watching Brock Osweiler, who was named as the starter on Monday morning. Is he – can he be – the guy for whom the expansion-era Browns have looked for so long? We’ll begin to find out Thursday – but only with a small sample as the starters will play just a quarter or less. But it’s something. It’s better than nothing.
In the very least, the insertion of Osweiler into the lineup seems to have added some excitement to an offense that was sorely lacking such.
We’re all going to be watching the offensive line, which was horrible last year but has been bolstered by the return from injury of guard Joel Bitonio and the addition of two key free agents in center JC Tretter and guard Kevin Zeitler.
Will the Browns be able to run the ball behind this line? They had better be able to do so, for the ground game is how they’re going to have to move the ball, at least for a while.
We’re all going to be watching the defense, which is the strength of the team. This is – perhaps – the best defense the reborn Browns have had.
It’s the front seven about which there is the most excitement. Can those guys up front be disruptive?
How good is end Myles Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft? If he’s simply half as good as advertised, then he’s pretty good.
We’re all going to be watching outside linebacker Jamie Collins, who was re-signed in the offseason to a $50 million contract. Will he live up to that price tag?
And in the back of the defense, we’re all going to be watching cornerback Joe Haden to see if has a chance to be what he once was, and rookie safety Jabrill Peppers, one of the team’s three first-round draft choices. The versatile Peppers has a chance to be special.
So let’s watch all of this – all of these players — and see what we find out.
