Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles: DTR at QB, Dawand Jones and past draft picks

PHILADELPHIA — The Browns and Eagles are playing a preseason game Thursday night. What percentage of those playing will be Browns or Eagles when the regular season kicks off is open to discussion.

The teams are fresh off back-to-back days of joint practices on Monday and Tuesday. Those joint practices provided ample opportunity for their starters and key backups and rotational pieces to get quality reps against, in the Browns' case, the reigning NFC champions.

Thursday night's game was always being held onto as the place for so many of those who find themselves fighting for a roster spot to get their moment to shine. It's why almost all of the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 quarterback reps were taken by either Deshaun Watson or Joshua Dobbs in the Browns' case, or Jalen Hurts or Marcus Mariota for the Eagles.

So as we look at a few things to watch for tonight's 7:30 game at Lincoln Financial Field, that's where we're going to start for the Browns.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson going to make his first NFL (preseason) start

Neither Watson nor Dobbs are going to even be dressed out for Thursday's game. It's going to be, much like the Hall of Fame Game was back on Aug. 3, a game to decided quarterback No. 3 on the roster.

That means, in this game, it's going to be rookie fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson's opportunity to prepare as the starter. Thompson-Robinson played the second half of the Hall of Fame Game against the New York Jets, leading the Browns on two touchdown drives.

The rookie out of UCLA has looked good in his two appearances, completing 17-of-21 passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns, a 134.9 passer rating and nine additional rushes for 47 yards. In other words, for whatever preseason stats are worth, he's been every bit as advertised.

Kellen Mond, the third-year pro who started against the Jets, will play the second half. For Mond, it's a chance to try and find some momentum to go his way with regard to being ahead of Thompson-Robinson, even though he did have an impressive final drive against the Washington Commanders that ended a 2-point conversion shy of tying the game.

Rookie Dawand Jones and the Browns' offensive line

The Browns are definitely going with a less-experienced offensive line in this game. However, the focus remains on the one player who has proven larger than life this preseason.

That would be rookie tackle Dawand Jones. Jones is clearly catching hold of life in the NFL based upon the reps he received in practice, including some No. 1 reps in Tuesday's practice with the Eagles.

In two preseason games, Jones has played 138 offensive snaps. He's proven to be very effective in those snaps, with Pro Football Focus crediting just one pressure against him through two games.

Now, about the rest of the line. The big question is who will actually be made available based on the fact there's injuries such as right tackle Jack Conklin's concussion and Drew Forbes' back which shuffles things up.

So there's some legitimate curiosity in what that starting five looks like, and definitely beyond that as well.

Fourth-year Jordan Elliott, third-year Anthony Schwartz and questions about Browns' past draft picks

There's a number of past Browns draft picks who won't even have to worry about playing. Then there's the group who may be playing to maintain their roster spot.

Then there's 2020 third-round defensive end Jordan Elliott and 2021 third-round receiver Anthony Schwartz. Both have played in both of the previous preseason games, but both have also run plenty of reps with the No. 1s in practice.

It speaks to their status and questions about their long-term future with the Browns that they played in the Hall of Fame Game. Both played less than 20 snaps against the Commanders last week.

How much, if any, they play Thursday will speak to where they stand with a week left in training camp. There's a world where they don't play, and a world where they get some substantial run.

As much as that sounds like a "no duh" statement, it's really true with those two players in particular. Both have drawn questions about their play, and certainly their present circumstance could either draw in new life, or signal the end of the road.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns at Eagles preview: DTR at QB, Dawand Jones and past draft picks