Kevin Hogan should be higher on the Browns depth chart than Cody Kessler

The Cleveland Browns have given ample opportunity to Coddy Kessler, but in doing so, are they overlooking fourth-stringer Kevin Hogan?

Cleveland Browns second-year quarterback Kevin Hogan should higher than Cody Kessler on the depth chart at this juncture of training camp.

Hogan, a player the Browns picked up after he was cut by the Chiefs last season, had the best scrimmage of all the Cleveland quarterbacks during the Orange and Brown scrimmage Aug. 4.

Hogan was 5-of-5 for 71 sacks. He did take three sacks, but he managed to put up points against what was mostly he first-team defense. Kessler was 4-of-6 for 33 yards. He was sacked twice.

Scrimmage aside, Hogan’s looked better than Kessler, which is disturbing considering Kessler’s regression.

Kessler entered camp as the No. 1 quarterback, but his job was by no means safe. Someone had to take the first snap, and it was Kessler, who played admirably during last year’s 1-15 season.

If Kessler and Hogan came into camp on as equals, Hogan would probably have the upper hand.

ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi wrote about Hogan following the scrimmage.

"It’s a shame he was buried at the back of the line and given the fewest reps. He seems to read the field and deliver the ball quicker than any of them. If the opportunities were equal, I believe he would be more productive than Kessler. In the scrimmage, he made the best play of the quarterbacks, slinging the ball on-the-money to Jordan Payton in traffic in the middle of the field for a 42-yard gain on third-and-18."

The biggest knock on Kessler during camp may be his indecisiveness with the ball. Browns radio play-by-play man Jim Donovan recently commented on how the 2016 third-round pick holds onto the ball way too long.

This isn’t to say that Hogan should be a candidate to start, because unless your Pro Football Focus, you shouldn’t want Cody to start, either.

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Kessler went 0-8 as a starter last season and he hasn’t showed anything in camp to prove that he can be a viable starter who wins games.

Hogan’s improvement should be celebrated, and hopefully the Browns continue to develop him.

Last year at Cincinnati, when Hue Jackson unleashed Hogan’s legs in a surprise attack the Bengals, it was obvious Hogan needed a lot of work in the passing department. Kessler got hurt in that game and Hogan had to take all the snaps. His delivery took a long time to execute and it was obvious from the stands that he was staring down receivers.

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Again, this isn’t to make Hogan the next Bernie Kosar. But his play does raise concerns over Kessler regression. Plenty of time remains in the preseason, but keep your eye on Hogan, especially in mop up duty.