Could Browns’ Kessler be the next Dalton?
How does Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Cody Kessler measure up against the Bengals star quarterback, Andy Dalton, when he was coming into the NFL?
The Cleveland Browns shocked a lot of people when the selected Kessler over Connor Cook in the draft, but upon further review the pick actually may have made a lot of sense. With a lot of the moves the team has made thus far it is clear that the Browns are going to try and build something similar to what the other teams in the division have. Coach Hue Jackson is very familiar with this division having coached for both the Ravens (from 2008-2009) and the Bengals (2012-2015). It is fair to say that Jackson knows what it takes to win in the AFC North. Kessler is not ever going to be confused with Joe Flacco or Ben Rothlisberger, but if you take a deeper look at Kessler compared to Andy Dalton there are some striking similarities there. Could coach Jackson have landed the next Andy Dalton in the 2016 NFL draft?
Coach Jackson joined the Bengals staff in 2012, a year after Dalton was drafted, so there are not many coaches in the league who know him better. Let’s start with what the two did in their collegiate careers. Both Dalton and Kessler relied heavily on their accuracy to find success in college. Kessler finished with 67.3 completion percentage in three years, with an average of 8.2 yards per completion, along with 88 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. In Dalton’s last three seasons with TCU he had a 62.3 completion percentage, with an average of 8.27 yards per completion, along with 61 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. So if anything the edge has to go to Kessler in terms of college production.
There have been plenty of college quarterbacks who have put up great numbers in college who have failed at the next level, so that will not be the only way to compare the two. Let’s look next at each quarterback’s measurables. Coming into the NFL Dalton was 6’2” 215 pounds. Kessler measured up at 6’1” 220 pounds. Kessler actually has much bigger hands than Dalton does by over an inch and Kessler also has longer arms by about an inch as well. So is the one inch difference in height made up for by the hand size and the longer arms?
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Both quarterbacks put up similar numbers at the combine. In the 40, vertical, broad, and cone drills Dalton put up a slash line of 4.87/29.5/106/6.93, Kessler’s slash line was similar except for the cone drill with a 4.89/29.5/104/7.32. The agility goes to Dalton here, but both quarterbacks once again are very close to each other.
Now let’s read some excerpts from each players draft profile from NFL.com. Both quarterbacks were said to have adequate or above average arm strength. Both were considered undersized. Both skillsets were considered to be tough transitions to the NFL. Like Dalton, Kessler was a late riser when it came to draft stock. Kessler and Dalton are both considered to be fantastic leaders as well. It seemingly will come down to the mental aspect of the game. Dalton’s mentality was never really questioned by scouts where as Kessler’s was. There is no way to truly measure mentality so until we see Kessler on the field we will likely not know what kind of mentality he will have in the NFL. You can read the full NFL.com scouting report on Dalton and Kessler.
College stats, measurables, and scouting reports do not make the quarterback, but for those who are saying that Kessler cannot make it in this league due to his physical limitations or lack of arm strength need to look no further than the Browns in-state rival’s quarterback to have someone to compare him to. I am not saying Kessler is the next Andy Dalton, I’m just saying it’s still too early to say he won’t be.
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