Hundreds and hundreds of hours of footage will be boiled down into one, single hour when tonight's long-awaited premiere of "Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cleveland Browns" airs on HBO.
So much has happened through the first 10 days of training camp -- and so much transpired in the offseason while the cameras were rolling -- it's hard to predict exactly how tonight's show will unfold.
There are a few storylines we think -- as the amateur producers we pretend to be -- will be unavoidable. Here are five that are likely to be featured in some way, shape or form.
1. Major shift on the offensive line
Joel Bitonio spent four years honing his craft to become one of the NFL's best offensive guards. After four practices, though, the Browns were forced to move him out of his comfort zone in order to ensure the best five linemen would be on the field. The reigning "Good Guy" award winner has put on a good face throughout his move to left tackle, the spot previously occupied by future Hall of Famer, and close friend of Bitonio, Joe Thomas. Tonight's episode could show us just how the news was broken to Bitonio and the process that led to the major decision.
2. Non-stop headlines from the WR room
Whether it's the arrival of Jarvis Landry, the non-arrival of Josh Gordon, the season-ending surgery for Ricardo Louis or Sunday's trade of former first-round pick Corey Coleman, there's no shortage of content available from the Browns wide receiving corps. It'd be a stunner if this group didn't receive heavy attention in tonight's episode.
3. The RV
We've already got proof that HBO's cameras were allowed inside the mysterious RV that Cleveland's quarterbacks have rented for the preseason. It'll likely serve as a gateway toward exploring the inner workings of the Browns' much-improved situation under center, as veteran Tyrod Taylor has taken the reins, No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield is developing as the team's quarterback of the future and veteran Drew Stanton is lending assistance wherever it's needed. For Stanton, it started with the RV.
4. The under-the-radar, feel-good story
This is "Hard Knocks," isn't it? There's always the feel-good story about a player on the cusp of making his first 53-man roster. As we've written in this space plenty of times, though, these players are harder to identify on the Browns after the team's offseason roster overhaul. Wide receiver C.J. Board has had a great training camp, Justin Currie switched from defensive back to linebacker in hopes of finding a niche in Cleveland's defense and cornerback Denzel Rice is looking to repeat what he did with the Eagles in 2015, when he was the only undrafted rookie free agent to make the team's 53-man roster.
5. Off-the-field endeavors
We already know the cameras were rolling at Hue Jackson's annual coaches barbecue and they were on site for the opening of a safe house for human trafficking victims at the downtown Salvation Army, a project near and dear to Jackson's heart. Same goes for the organization's jump into Lake Erie in early June. Expect to get to know some of Cleveland's top players in a way that goes beyond what they do between the lines. This is easily the most time HBO's crew will have to pour into a single episode, so stories like these could be a little more in-depth than what we'll see as the show progresses.
