The NFL preseason officially gets underway Thursday with the Hall of Fame Game between the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets. The Browns are looking to rebound from a disappointing 7-10 season. Deshaun Watson, Amari Cooper, and Myles Garrett are the stars that drive the team, but the Browns need depth and role players as well, and that is who will be on display tonight. With that in mind, here are five sneaky Browns players to watch against the Jets, from Kellen Mond to Jakeem Grant Sr..

Kellen Mond

Deshaun Watson reportedly won’t play in the Hall of Fame Game. That means the team’s rookie fifth-round pick, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, will be the quarterback who fans will want to see.

The sneaky QB to watch, though, is former Texas A&M signal-caller Kellen Mond. The Vikings took Mond in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but he never panned out in Minnesota despite the fact that some analysts (Chris Simms!) like him better than Justin Fields or Trey Lance.

A change of scenery and joining an offense designed for an athletic running quarterback like himself, as opposed to Kirk Cousins, could do Mond good. And if it does, he could be the QB of the future or even sooner if Watson struggles again this season.

Luke Wypler

The 2023 NFL Draft was a good day for Big 10 centers. Joe Tippmann (Wisconsin), John Michael Schmitz (Minnesota), Juice Scruggs (Penn State), Olu Oluwatimi (Michigan), and Luke Wypler (Ohio State) all went in the draft’s first six rounds.

Wypler was the last to go and went to the Browns. And while Cleveland has an excellent offensive line overall, the center position is the weak link.

In camp, Ethan Pocic (13 starts last year), Nick Harris (one start), and Wypler will compete for the job. Pocic is the favorite, for sure, and Harris is solid but oft-injured. The team will likely keep two centers at most, so Wypler has to fight for a spot this NFL preseason, and that fight starts Thursday.

Siaki Ika

Switching to the defensive side of the ball, former Baylor defensive tackle, and Browns third-round pick Siaki Ika is a player. He is also a mountain of a man at 6-foot-4, 358 pounds, so you won’t be able to help but watch him when he’s on the field in the Browns-Jets game.

Ika is a space-eating run-stuffer, which is exactly what the Browns need. Last season, the Browns gave up the eight-most rushing yards in the league and the third-most rushing touchdowns. Ika is a player who can fix that if defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz puts him in the right positions to do so.

Also, Ika does have more athleticism than most players his size, so look to see if he can push the pocket at all, too, in the Hall of Fame Game.

Cedric Tillman

This maybe isn’t as sneaky as some of the other players on this list, but the Brown’s top pick in 2023, third-round receiver Cedric Tillman out of Tennessee is a player you absolutely have to watch in the NFL preseason and the Hall of Fame Game.

The Browns have Amari Cooper and traded for Jets WR Elijah Moore this offseason, but they need another high-end pass-catcher if they hope to compete with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North and the other top AFC teams.

Tillman is a big target at 6-foot-3, and he put up big production in college, especially in the biggest games. He had 17 catches, 352 yards, and two touchdowns against Alabama and Georgia last season.

Seeing what he does in his first NFL game will be something Cleveland fans will watch intently on Thursday.

Jakeem Grant Sr.

Another receiver to watch is Jakeem Grant Sr. The veteran playmaker is one of the best kick and punt returners in the league, with six career returns for touchdowns. He’s also a sneaky offensive weapon if the team can figure out how to best use him.

Grant is just 5-foot-7, 171 pounds, but he is quick and fast and moves like he’s controlled by a video game controller. He’ll get more time with the offense during the NFL preseason, so that’s where Browns fans will see what he can do there.

With the players who will be around Watson, Grant can sneak in and catch screens and short passes and even take handoffs. If Kevin Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt are the offensive gurus many think they are, they should be able to find a way to get Grant a few offensive touches a game and put him in positions to make big plays.