Yesterday it was announced that rookie fifth-round draft pick Shedeur Sanders would start preseason game number one against the Carolina Panthers. This is a great opportunity for the young man to get reps in game like situations. If he plays well, then that’s evidence he’s absorbing NFL coaching. If he doesn’t play well, It’s still a valuable learning experience in his development. That’s it. There’s no secret plan to make him fail and the no reason he should start week one against the Bengals. The reason he’s starting is because both Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel are both injured. It’s that simple.

Besides Sanders there are plenty of reasons to watch. As expected, most of the starters will not play, nor should they. On offense, the offensive line will be mostly backups. I’m interested to see if Dawand Jones takes some early reps at left tackle. I’ve heard that both offensive lineman Lorenzo Thompson and center Luke Wypler have been practicing well. Thompson has been playing left guard in practice. Head coach Kevin Stefanski informed the media on Wednesday, neither wide receiver Jerry Jeudy nor Cedic Tillman will play. This gives Jamari Thrash, Luke Floriea, Kisean Johnson and Gage Larvadain to make statements. The final three are probably playing for one roster spot. Even though I know the offense will be very vanilla, I’m still interested in how the Browns line up rookie tight end Harold Fannin, if he plays. Fannin would defiantly help Sanders.

On defense, there are several players to watch. Defensive end Cameron Thomas is making a strong case for defensive end number five on the roster. Because of the injury to Martin Emerson, slot corner Greg Newsome will move outside. A replacement must be found to take over the slot and Cameron Mitchell should get the first shot. He’s had an up and down training camp so far. I’m curious to see if second-round pick Carson Schwesinger starts at middle linebacker. Other players that intrigue me are defensive end Adin Huntington, safety Donovan McMillon, defensive back Nick Needham and defensive back Dom Jones.

A good indication of how the coaching staff feels about players is the order they’re put into the game. Watch for who replaces the starters first. During the scrimmage Wednesday, the backup offensive line were plagued with penalties. Even though it’s the first preseason game, this behavior has to be addressed. I’d love to see a player pulled from the game after a stupid penalty. I go into every preseason game hoping for two things clean, efficient play and no injuries. The outcome really doesn’t matter.