Cleveland Browns College QB Prospects: Jared Goff Should Remain Front Runner

Oct 10, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jared Goff (16) is hit by Utah Utes defensive tackle Viliseni Fauonuku (98) during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah won 30-24. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns will almost certainly be looking for a quarterback when the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft rolls around. Here’s how quarterback’s that should be on the Browns’ radar performed in their latest effort.

*Quarterbacks are ranked in order of where I would draft them.

Jared Goff: Everybody’s darling through the first half of the season has been Jared Goff, and deservingly so. But Goff came back to earth a little against Utah Saturday night, tossing five interceptions during the Golden Bears’ first loss of the season.

Goff managed to throw two touchdowns and for 340 yards, but there’s not doubt, those five picks were a killer.

And while the Utah effort wasn’t his greatest game, he still manages to make throws like this:

Cardale Jones: Cardale Jones had his best game of the season for the Buckeyes, even though coach Urban Meyer stayed true to his talk of using J.T. Barrett in the red zone.

But Jones improved to 9-0 as a starter and threw for two touchdowns while completing 21-of-28 passes for 291 yards. For the season, he’s completing 62.4 percent of his passes, while throwing for seven scores, against five interceptions.

He hasn’t taken the college football world by storm, but he still projects to be a first-round pick, especially with the emphasis teams put on quarterback play come draft day.

Connor Cook: Connor Cook went up against a softball opponent in Rutgers, and while Sparty got more than it could handle, Cook delivered 357 passing yards, in addition to two touchdowns against only one interception.

With Goff’s letdown against Utah, the case could be made that Cook has been the most consistent signal caller in college football this year.

On the season, Cook has 12 touchdowns and only two picks. Plus, he’s completing nearly 60 percent of his passing attempts.

Christian Hackenberg: Accuracy remains a big issue for Christian Hackenberg as Penn State preps to play Ohio State in primetime this Saturday. Against Indiana, Hackenberg completed just 53.8 percent of his passes (21-of-39), and that’s been the theme all season. Hackenberg’s struggle stem all the way back to Week 1 when he was just 11-0f-25 against Temple. Yes, you read that right, TEMPLE.

For the year, he’s completed 53 percent of his passes, and has tossed seven touchdowns against two interceptions.

Much like Jones, Hackenberg’s failed to live up to his preseason hype, especially considering he favored by many entering the 2015 season as the QB most ready to play in a pro system.

Jacoby Brisset: Jacoby Brissett isn’t someone you hear much about, but WalterFootball projects the NC State signal caller to be a first round pick. The 6-foot-4, 235 pound Florida native has completed 68.9 percent of his passes for the Wolfpack, while tossing eight touchdowns against only one interception.

But despite his high completion percentage, Brissett is trending down. He put up his numbers mostly against softies, and when he faced a real defense in Virginia Tech on Saturday, he struggled.

Against the Hokies, the senior was 12-of-25 for only 113 yards with a touchdown and an interception. In a big game, you can’t be that bad.

Which one of these quarterbacks would you spend a first-round pick on if you were Ray Farmer?

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