Cleveland Browns: Week 5 college quarterback tracker

The Cleveland Browns need a franchise quarterback. Mississippi’s Chad Kelly may be a player the franchise can look to as that individual.

This is the third installment of a weekly analysis of college quarterbacks around the country. The Cleveland Browns are in dire need of a franchise quarterback and must look toward the draft to find one. Each week we will feature one top quarterback prospect and break down his recent performances.

This week features Ole Miss Senior Chad Kelly. Kelly is considered by many draft experts to be the top senior quarterback prospect. The redshirt senior led the Rebels to a big win last week over Georgia, completing 75 percent of his passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. He has had a solid start to the season throwing 12 touchdowns to just three interceptions. Kelly faces great competition each week in the SEC and that will help his transition to the next level by playing top defenses week in and week out.

Kelly checks off many of the intangibles scouts look for in quarterback prospects. If he finishes his senior season strong, expect to hear his name called early next April. In this article we will break down Kelly’s strengths, weaknesses and go into the film room and examine his play thus far in 2016.

Height: 6-foot-2; Weight: 225; Age 22; will turn 23 by draft day

Chad Kelly is in his second season of being the full-time starting quarterback for the Rebels. Last season as a junior, he threw for 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns leading Mississippi to a 10-3 season and a victory in the Sugar Bowl over Oklahoma State. Kelly comes from great NFL bloodlines as he in the nephew of Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly.

One of Kelly’s biggest knocks is his off-the-field history. Coming out of high school, he was a four-star recruit and he committed to the University of Clemson. Kelly was redshirted as a freshman in 2012 and appeared only in a brief backup role for Clemson as a freshman in 2013.

However, in the spring of 2014, Kelly was dismissed from the team for conduct detrimental to the team. It was reported Kelly got into a heated argument with Clemson head coach Dabo Sweeney at the spring game, which led to his dismissal.

He then spent the 2014 season at East Mississippi Community College, leading them to an undefeated 12-0 season and a NJCAA National Championship. It was then after the 2014 season, where Kelly committed to the University of Mississippi for the 2015 season.

Soon after signing with Mississippi, Kelly was arrested at a night club where he got into a fight with the bouncers, threatening to return with an AK-47 weapon. The charges where dropped to disorderly conduct and Kelly had to complete community service. Since this, Kelly has stayed out of trouble and has been the starting quarterback for the Rebels since the beginning of 2015. Despite his success on the field, NFL teams will question his character and maturity leading up to the draft.

Now we will dissect Kelly’s strengths and weaknesses on the field.

The biggest thing that stands out when watching Kelly is his arm strength. Kelly has the arm talent to make all the throws NFL coaches look for in a young quarterback. He is at his best when he is throwing with rhythm from the pocket. He shows great pocket awareness and throws with a quick release. One of his most NFL ready traits I have seen, is in his ability to work through multiple progressions. He doesn’t get stuck on his first read and keeps his eyes and feet moving to find an open receiver.

One of the things I love most about Kelly is the attitude and confidence he plays with each week. He plays with passion and is a fiery competitor. He has confidence in his arm strength where he makes throws into tight windows and challenges defenders to make plays.

Kelly is a gunslinger and likes to be aggressive throwing the ball down the field. He plays with an attack mentally and shows outstanding pocket skills. Kelly has also shown his athletic ability as he has ability to escape the pocket and makes plays on the run through the air and on the ground.

One of Kelly’s biggest strengths can also serve as his kryptonite. His gunslinger mentality makes up who he is as a quarterback and that contributes to why he is so successful. However, his gunslinger attitude also can be his downfall. He sometimes forces the ball downfield unnecessarily into tight spots which leads to turnovers. Sometimes he must scale back his aggressiveness and play to see another down instead of always hitting the home run pass.

He must also improve throwing the ball at different velocities. He has a strong arm and sometimes throws with too much heat on passes that require a touch or loft throw.

In the Ole Miss offense, they primarily operate out of shotgun and Kelly is rarely under center. Learning and becoming comfortable with the footwork under center will be another challenge for him.

Early Comparison: Jay Cutler 

I thought long and hard for an accurate comparison for Kelly. Initially, I thought of Eli Manning, making the Ole Miss connection and for their style of play in the pocket. However, Kelly is a superior athlete to Manning and can make more plays outside the pocket. Thats when i saw NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah’s pro comparison to Bears quarterback Jay Cutler:

"“He has a lot of similarities to Jay Cutler: big arm, aggressive nature, above-average athlete. However, I thought Cutler showed more poise under pressure when he was at Vanderbilt.”"

I found this to be the best comparison as of right now. Kelly has good physical size and arm strength for the NFL quarterback position. He is similar to Cutler in the fact they are both aggressive pushing the ball downfield. Both quarterbacks like to attack downfield which lead to big plays but also have a higher risk for turnovers.

Throughout the first four games of the season, Kelly has done a better job of eliminating costly interceptions. Kelly has thrown 12 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions, but all of those were in the same game vs Florida State.

Kelly has the arm strength, pocket presence, size and toughness that coaches desire in a young quarterback. For Kelly, he will need to sell them with his personality and prove to coaches that his off-the-field issues are behind him and he can be the face of an NFL franchise.

Here are some video breakdowns on what makes Kelly so special as a passer but also where he needs to improve to sell NFL scouting departments.

The first play comes from the season opener vs. Florida State. On the play, Kelly senses the rush coming from the interior of the defensive line and needs to make a quick decision. Kelly shows poise in the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield. On the throw, Kelly shows elite timing and anticipation. Kelly places a perfect ball over the defensive back and before his receiver breaks. This is an NFL-caliber play by Kelly, as he showcases great understanding of route running and throwing on them.

This next play comes from Mississippi’s win last Saturday against Georgia. On the play, Mississippi uses a play-action fake and Kelly starts to roll right outside the pocket. A defender breaks free and has a chance to sack Kelly. Kelly shows his athletic ability to avoid the rusher. Instead of looking to scramble, Kelly keeps his eyes downfield, steps up and unleashes a deep bomb for a touchdown.

The throw is over 60 yards, showing his natural arm strength and ability. The play also shows his gunslinger mentality and how he isn’t afraid to take deep chances down the field. His receiver is in one-on-one coverage and Kelly takes a chance that his receiver will win the battle over the corner.

This next play is an example of where his arm strength and gunslinger mindset come back to hurt Kelly. On this play, he locks on to his primary read the entire time and forces a throw into tight coverage. The defensive back is in good position and the intended target doesn’t have a chance to make a play on the ball. Kelly tries to make a perfect throw into a tight spot with the defender right there. This is how Kelly relies to much on his arm strength and forces passes and cause turnovers.

Next Game: This Saturday, 10/1 at 7:00 p.m. vs, Memphis.