Hue Jackson has high praise for rookie QB Cody Kessler

The moment the Cleveland Browns selected quarterback Cody Kessler with the 93rd-overall pick in the latest NFL Draft, many Browns fans began to question the pick. Was this head coach Hue Jackson’s guy that he wanted to develop? Will Kessler compete with Robert Griffin III for the starting job? Why did we quote-unquote reach on Kessler?

Immediately following the draft, Jackson told the Dawg Pound to “trust him” and the front office’s decision because he believes is his guy, and Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown even said “don’t sleep on” Kessler competing for the starting nod behind center.

Following this past weekend’s rookie camp, Jackson and plenty to say about his rookie quarterback, plenty of which were positive. In his first practice as a member of the Browns, the 23-year-old made the best of his opportunity to showcase his arm, especially with the cold, rainy, and even sometimes snowy weather that was in Berea over the weekend. Even though he played well, the head coach admitted that he did have a few mistakes, including a couple interceptions, but mistakes are expected from a rookie quarterback.

“I didn’t see any issue with his arm strength and the weather. Cody has all the characteristics that we think he can handle any elements, any situation.

“Obviously, he’s just got to keep growing and keep getting better. He’s playing in the National Football League. The game is tough. You see he threw one to the other team today. Can’t do that. Sometimes you’ve just go to say uncle and throw the ball away. He’ll learn that as he goes, too. He had another good day.”

Although he went against other rookies and minicamp invitees and not cornerbacks such as Joe Haden, Kessler showed plenty of promise during the weekend’s practices, and even proved that he has already learned from some mistakes he made early on. Jackson has plenty of high expectations for his rookie quarterback, ones that he has already tried to drive home to Kessler. Although the head coach has plenty of expectations and high praise for the gunslinger, it’s on Kessler to prove to Jackson that he can be his guy.

“It’s not anything else, and I’ve seen him clean it up in individual, our individual period on to the next period. That told me that he knows how to take information and use it to his advantage. He was able to do that, but you have to do it consistently. He had a good first day.

“There is an expectation that I have on how you play and how you go about your business. I wanted to put him in that mode right away because again, that is the first time I have ever coached him. They say first impressions are lasting. That’s all I wanted to accomplish because I have a high expectation for him as he continues to compete. He has to continue to grow and get better, but at the same time, he is a very eager young man, he wants to do it and he is talented.

“We drafted him. We know he has some ability. I think you guys have all seen it. The guy can throw the football very accurately to people and throw in tight spaces. He did that extremely well today. He has to be able to, again, handle all the different things that come with playing quarterback in the National Football League. I think it’s way too early to tell all of that right now. Is he talented? Yes. I think we all saw that today.”

With almost four months until the start of the regular season, the rookie has plenty of time to show Jackson and the rest of the coaching staff his ability to not only control the offense, but make good decisions in the pocket. Jackson has a vision for what Kessler can become, now it’s up to Kessler to continue to improve, whether that is throwing extra reps before or after practice or just proving himself during practice. But, during the rookie minicamp over the weekend, the quarterback seems to have already turned some heads.