Cleveland Browns: Week 4 college quarterback tracker

The Cleveland Browns need a franchise quarterback. Here are some top college prospects to keep an eye on this weekend.

Last week we introduced a weekly feature analyzing the top quarterbacks in the country as the Cleveland Browns continue their search for a franchise quarterback.

In the first edition of the college quarterback tracker, the focus was on breaking down and analyzing the top two quarterback prospects: Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer.

Watson and Kizer had productive games last weekend that showcased their talent and ability. This week we will review their performances as well those of Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly and Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya.

In the coming weeks we will review the play of the major quarterback prospects as well as introducing prospects as they burst onto the college football scene. Each week we will do a feature on one prospect, with this week’s feature on Louisville sensation Lamar Jackson as he has taken the nation by storm with 18 touchdowns in three games.

Lamar Jackson has burst onto the college football scene as the true sophomore has 18 total touchdowns in three games for the Cardinals. Last weekend Jackson led his team to a 63-20 win over Florida State, the No. 2 team in the nation at the time.

The challenge for Jackson wasn’t to big as he completed 65 percent of his passes while throwing for one score and adding four on the ground. With Louisville’s hot start, the Cardinals have soared up the rankings to No. 3 and Jackson has emerged as a front runner for the Heisman Trophy award.

Unfortunately, Jackson is a true sophomore and will not be draft eligible in 2018. Even so, his dominance during the first three games of the season makes him a prospect to keep tabs on moving forward, especially if the Browns don’t add a quarterback in the 2017 NFL Draft.

As a freshman in 2015, Jackson started eight games, completing 54 percent of his passes for 1,840 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jackson didn’t receive any national attention or hype this preseason and has surprised many with his natural playmaking ability.

Lamar Jackson has natural running ability and is so much more than just your typical scrambling quarterback. Best said, Jackson has the speed and athletic ability to excel at running back or receiver at the college level. He has a rare combination of speed and elusive ability for the quarterback position, and the ability to turn every play into a home run. As a freshman Jackson was one-dimensional as he tried to only beat defenses with his legs.

However, through the early part of 2016 Jackson has improved his passing and become a true nightmare for defenses with his dual-threat ability. Jackson has displayed improved accuracy on short to intermediate routes and has become more comfortable  in the pocket.

As a freshman Jackson only completed 54 percent of his passes. In the early stages of his season that has risen to 61 percent. When the pocket collapses, Jackson is at his best with his freelance playmaking ability. Jackson, only 19 years of age, is extremely raw in his development but has shown flashes of improvement from his freshman year to his sophomore year.

Jackson can get himself out of almost any situation with his legs, but NFL scouts will want to see him also showcase his arm moving forward. At the college level Jackson is dynamic because he is faster and more athletic than the defenses he is playing against and can out run them. This will certainly help his Heisman profile, but the real challenge for him becomes perfecting his pocket play.

He is wild and inconsistent on to many wide open throws. Some of his problems can be fixed mechanically, while other will be corrected as he continues to become comfortable in working through his progressions.

Developing a passer-first mentality this season will help Jackson rise up draft boards all next season. Like many young athletic quarterbacks, Jackson escapes the pocket to soon and isn’t as comfortable inside the pocket as he is running or scrambling outside the pocket.

As teams realize Jackson’s ability it will be something to monitor this season if Jackson can continue to improve steadily as a passer, or if defensive game plans keying on stopping him will fluster his improvement as a quarterback prospect.

Way to early player comparison: My comparison as of right now, would be right handed and less skilled passing version of Michael Vick.

Vick had superior arm strength and a quick release coming out of Virginia Tech in 2001, giving him a great deep ball to go along with his magical scrambling abilities.

As a 19-year-old true sophomore Jackson is quite not as developed passing and needs work. However, his running and playmaking abilities are uncharted for his age.

Through Louisville’s first three games, Jackson has thrown for 913 yards and eight touchdowns, while adding 464 yards rushing and 10 rushing touchdowns.

Jackson has set the bar for dual-threat quarterbacks at the collegiate level and has emerged as a Heisman Trophy front-running candidate. Not only is Jackson excelling for the Cardinals, he is the leader of their football team and has the respect and command of their locker room. This was evident on Saturday as Jackson led the Cardinals to a home victory over the No. 2 team in the nation in Florida State.

Below are some breakdowns of how Jackson has a lot of room to grown and improve as a passer, but also of his dynamic playmaking ability.

On the first drive of the game against Florida State, Jackson misses a wide open throw for an easy touchdown. Accuracy issues remain a concern moving forward and Jackson must improve throwing from the pocket to become an elite dual-threat prospect.

Jackson has elite skills running in the open field, and here is evidence as he torches the Seminoles defense for a long touchdown run.

Next Game: Saturday at Marshall at 8 p.m.

Deshaun Watson looked like his playmaking self in a 59-0 route over South Carolina State last weekend. Watson was inconsistent the first two weeks of the season, but looked poised and confident in a tune-up game over an easy opponent before the ACC conference schedule begins.

Watson threw for 152 yards while completing 12-of-15 passes and throwing for three touchdowns while playing just the first half against the Bulldogs. Although Watson didn’t face fierce competition, he threw accurately and made big plays in what was expected of him in the blowout win.

Clemson kicked off the Week 4 college football schedule with a Thursday night game at Georgia Tech. The Tigers dominated the Yellow Jackets, out gaining them in yardage 442 to 124 in their 26-7 victory. Watson continued this solid play as he threw 304 yards and two scores. He also completed 66 percent of his passes on the night.

Watson’s strong play carried over into another big win for Clemson in their first conference game.

However, although Watson has now had two impressive games in a row, he must improve in the face of pressure in the pocket to win over scouting departments on his ability to be a NFL franchise quarterback.

Watson had struggled through the first three games in the face of pressure and must show improvement throughout the ACC conference schedule. Clemson has big time games approaching and Watson will have more opportunities to build off these tune-up games and sell himself as the top prospect.

Next Game: Oct. 1 vs. Louisville at 8 p.m.

DeShone Kizer was tested against No. 12-ranked Michigan State last Saturday.

Despite the 36-28 loss, Kizer continued his growth and maturation as a young passer, throwing for 344 yards on 20-of-37 passing for two touchdowns and one interception. He also added two rushing touchdowns. The Irish trailed by 29 points late in the third quarter, but the Kizer-led offense rallied and scored three unanswered touchdowns to make it a one-score game late in the fourth quarter.

The second loss of the season dropped the Irish out of the top 25 poll, but the play of their young quarterback was superb. The moment against a top team in the country wasn’t to big for Kizer as he remained poised and confident, and almost completed the nearly impossible comeback.

Former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn had high praise for Kizer, according to Monday Morning Quarterback:

"“This kid is special,” says Brady Quinn, Notre Dame’s most recent first-round QB (2007, 22nd overall to Cleveland). “You see a lot of natural athletes who play quarterback because they can throw the football and they’re fast and athletic and they can get a coach out of a bad call because they can scramble. DeShone can get out of the pocket and run, but he’s a natural passer. He can pass with different anticipations, different speeds.”"

What has separated Kizer is his red zone and 3rd down passing numbers from other top quarterback prospects. Kizer has excelled from the pocket in the early stages of this season and these numbers on 3rd down and the red zone validate his capability as an NFL passer. There is a huge difference in production in these situations between Kizer and Watson.

This is a beautifully thrown deep ball by Kizer to help start the late-game comeback. A week ago against Nevada, Kizer didn’t incorporate his legs into a deep throw and the result was an interception. Here Kizer shows improvement with his lower half by using his legs to throw a strong accurate deep ball to the outside shoulder of his receiver.

Kizer is impressing and improving each week. If he keeps up the consistent play he could over take Watson as the top quarterback prospect for 2017.

Next Game: Saturday vs. Duke at 3:30 p.m.

Ole Miss senior quarterback Chad Kelly had No. 1  Alabama on the brink of an upset last Saturday. However, the Crimson Tide ultimately were too much for Kelly and the Rebels.

Kelly performed well, completing 65 percent of his passes for 421 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Despite turning in huge numbers on paper, not everyone is sold on the senior quarterback moving forward.

Next Game: Saturday vs. No. 12 Georgia at 12 p.m.

Junior quarterback Brad Kaaya enjoyed himself a solid outing last Saturday against Appalachian State, throwing for 368 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception.

However, this play shows some of the flaws Kaaya has. Kaaya is indecisive throwing the ball and has a twitchy release motion. A well-timed throw could have resulted in a touchdown to either receiver on the left side.

Next: Cody Kessler and Browns rookie QBs

In the coming weeks we will center the film breakdown around Kaaya as he enters tougher competition against the ACC.

Next Game: Oct. 1 against Georgia Tech at 12 p.m.