Quinn likes Kizer:
The Browns drafted the three best prospects in the 2017 NFL draft. If this were early October 2016, you’d probably believe it. Back then it wasn’t hard to find a mock draft with Myles Garrett, DeShone Kizer and Jabrill Peppers listed among the top 10 picks. You can still find them.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller put together a quarter-season draft prediction on Oct. 5 and had the Browns taking Kizer No. 1, followed by Garrett to the Titans and Peppers third to the Dolphins.
Here’s what Miller had to say about Kizer:
“Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer isn’t playing on a dominant team, but neither was Jared Goff a year ago, and he still ended up going No. 1 overall. Kizer is a much more impressive physical specimen than Goff too. He brings a Cam Newton-sized arm and excellent athleticism to the position in combination with a heady, instinctive style of quarterbacking from the pocket and on the go.”
Sports Illustrated’s Chris Burke released his mock draft 1.0 on Sept. 27, and had Garrett going No. 1 to the Browns, followed by Kizer to the 49ers and Peppers No. 5 to the Jaguars.
Eric Galko, a draft analyst who contributes to The Sporting News, had Garrett, Kizer and Peppers in the top 10 of his Sept. 6 mock draft: Kizer No. 1 to the Browns, Garrett No. 3 to the Titans, Peppers No. 9 to the Jaguars.
Bleacher Report’s Ryan McCrystal posted his firstround predictions on Oct. 24, after Week 7 of the NFL season. He had the Browns drafting Kizer at No. 1, the 49ers taking Garrett No. 2 and the Panthers taking Peppers No. 4. (McCrystal should get some credit for predicting Mitchell Trubisky to the Bears at No. 3.)
Things obviously changed for Peppers and Kizer over the last five months, with Peppers falling to No. 25 and Kizer to No. 52 overall, but the Browns are no doubt hoping that, when it comes to ranking prospects, those early mock drafts turn out to be prophetic.
Brady Quinn, drafted by the Browns a decade ago in the first round of out Notre Dame, believes Kizer, a fellow Golden Domer, could be the Browns’ long-awaited longterm quarterback solution.
“Honestly, he can be this year’s Dak Prescott,” Quinn said Saturday. “He’s got the highest ceiling to me of any of these guys going into the NFL. I think the Browns got a steal.”
Quinn, picked by the Browns at No. 22 overall in 2007, believes Kizer has more potential than first-rounders Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson “because of his mechanics, his arm strength, and his athleticism for his size. I think he’s incredibly intelligent and he’ll be able to operate an NFL system.”
What’s more, Quinn thinks Kizer can “thrive” right away the same way Prescott did in Dallas, where he went 13-3 last season. He’s not expecting anywhere near the same record, but he can see Kizer functioning well in coach Hue Jackson’s offense.
“From a physical standpoint, yes,” Quinn said. “I can see where he comes in, takes care of the football, and makes smart decisions. Hue’s a great offensive play-calling coordinator and good with quarterbacks, so I feel like he can build a game plan for DeShone to be successful.”
Quinn, now an analyst for Fox, CBS and Sirius XM NFL Radio, sees Kizer battling it out with Cody Kessler for the starting job — and having a good chance to win it.
“It’s either DeShone Kizer’s job or it’s Cody Kessler’s,” Quinn said. “I don’t see Brock Osweiler factoring into it.”
Quinn didn’t have a huge problem with Kizer’s telling USA Today that he has Tom Brady’s brain and Newton’s body and that he can be the greatest QB ever.
Said Quinn: “I wasn’t surprised by what Deshone said and I wasn’t surprised by the confidence he has in himself because that’s kind of every quarterback in this draft. They’re just not as outward or open about it.”
Browns warn Brantley:
In the sixth round Saturday, the Browns drafted Florida defensive tackle Caleb Brantley, but they might not keep him.
Brantley faces a misdemeanor battery charge for allegedly knocking a woman unconscious April 13.
“It’s something that is concerning for us and continues to be a concern,” said Sashi Brown, vice president of football operations. “We communicated to Caleb that this is still something we’re investigating ... and facts may come up that prevent us from keeping him.”
The Browns had Brantley visit Berea prior to the incident, but Brown said the team has expressed its concerns to Brantley since the incident.
“Based on what we know so far, we felt this was an OK point in the draft to take him,” Brown said.
Some analysts had Brantley going somewhere in the first three rounds of the draft prior to the incident. Sports Illustrated listed him as the third-best defensive tackle behind Alabama’s Jonathan Allen and Michigan State’s Malik McDowell.