Browns On DeShone Kizer: 'We'll Give Him An Opportunity To Compete'
The Cleveland Browns were surprised DeShone Kizer was available at No. 52 overall.
The rebuilding AFC North franchise felt the value was too good to pass up, selecting the former Notre Dame quarterback late in the second round of Friday’s NFL Draft.
“With DeShone in particular, we were impressed by his intelligence,” Browns Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry said on a media conference call Friday, “impressed by his maturity, his preparation in our meetings and obviously, he has all of the tools to be a successful quarterback in the NFL.”
“We are better at that position,” Browns head coach Hue Jackson said. “We have made huge strides over the last several months at that position.”
Kizer, a native of Toledo, Ohio, was the fourth quarterback selected in the 2017 draft. Chicago, Kansas City and Houston traded up to select Mitch Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, respectively, in Thursday’s first round.
Considered a first-round talent early in the evaluation process, Kizer slipped down draft boards during Notre Dame’s 4-8 season in 2016.
By slipping from the late-first to the late-second round, Kizer lost about $5 million in total contract value. The estimated value of his rookie deal is $4,961,316, according to spotrac.com.
Jackson was asked about Kizer’s lack of accuracy — a 58.7 completion percentage during his junior season — and whether that can be improved at the pro level. Jackson explained the combination of factors at Notre Dame that led to that mark.
“The receivers play a part in that, too, as well as the quarterback, timing and rhythm and what are you trying to do on every particular play,” Jackson said. “To DeShone’s defense a little bit, he played with a lot of the young receivers a year ago, and that is difficult when you are a veteran player and here come a bunch of young guys. At the same time, he is being very honest that he knows that something that he needs to work at.”
During two private pre-draft workouts with the Browns, Kizer showed Jackson his skills and that he's improved in that department.
“The beautiful part of it was he was able to take that instruction and improve,” Jackson said. “We saw that in our workout. That was outstanding. He is very coachable. He wants to work at it, and that is what it is going to take. We will find out how good this guy can be over time.”
Jackson said Kizer has all the physical attributes he’s looking for in a quarterback. Intelligence, size, strong arm. But it’s “a little early” to discuss a quarterback competition, Jackson said.
“We are going to give all of our guys an opportunity to compete,” Jackson said. “That is what it is all about. It is not about who is the starter and who is this. Let’s let these guys get here and learn our offense, spend time with myself and (quarterbacks) Coach (David) Lee and go out onto the field and let’s see how it all turns out.”
Kizer will compete with Cody Kessler, Brock Osweiler, and Kevin Hogan — for now. According to multiple reports, the Browns have expressed interest in Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo and Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron this offseason, though those trades appeared to have cooled down.
Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown is still looking to solidify the position, and Kizer’s value was too much to pass up in the second round. Cleveland selected Myles Garrett first overall, as well as Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers and Miami’s David Njoku in the first round.
One of the main criticisms of Kizer is that he’s not ready to contribute as a rookie. Brown doesn’t see that as a downside.
“The reality is it’s probably a little bit overblown when people say ‘pro-ready,’” Brown said. “There are just not a lot of guys, if any, that are coming out of college that are pro ready. We expect when we draft a quarterback we are going to have to develop him. We talked about that a long time, that is Hue’s expertise.
“I do think for us understanding that these guys are going to come and not place too lofty of expectations on him and make sure that he comes in and understands that (QBs) Brock (Osweiler), Cody (Kessler) and Kevin (Hogan) have been in the league longer than he has, but he will be hustling to catch up. It is going to be a development process for him, just as it will for anybody who has been drafted today or yesterday.”
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