The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Long-term commitment to Kizer is the way to go
Hue Jackson officially named DeShone Kizer the Browns starting quarterback during a conference call on Aug. 27, and the best thing he said, maybe the best thing he has said since being named head coach in January of 2016, is this:
“This is not just for the moment,” Jackson said. “We’re going to get with DeShone, ride with him through it all and work with him through all of this. (Rookie struggles) are going to happen, and I think we get that. He gets that. We’re not going to blink about it. We’re just going to correct it and keep moving forward.”
A Browns head coach and an organization actually making a commitment to a quarterback? That’s as rare as the home team winning a game at FirstEnergy Stadium in December.
Kizer will be the 27th different starter for the Browns since their return the NFL in 1999 — the 15th to start the season opener.
Fans should not expect miracles in Kizer’s first season. Last week we wrote a column saying Kizer is getting the opportunity to start because Brock Osweiler was a total flop. We wrote Kizer is going to hold onto the ball too long and make mistakes.
Nothing about that assessment has changed, but Kizer certainly has the chance to grow if he can stay healthy. For what it’s worth, Mike Mayock of NFL Network in predraft commentary said Kizer has the highest ceiling of all the quarterbacks in the 2017 draft.
Three were taken
ahead of him — Mitchell Trubisky second overall by the Bears, Patrick Mahomes 10th by the Chiefs and Deshaun Watson 12th by the Texans.
The Bears, Chiefs and Texans moved up to get their quarterbacks. The Browns stayed at 52 and still got Kizer 40 picks after the Texans selected Watson with the pick that belonged to the Browns. Browns EVP of Football Operations Sashi Brown turned that pick into safety Jabrill Peppers and the Texans’ firstround pick in 2018 and still got the quarterback he wanted.
“There was a purpose in drafting him,” Jackson said on Aug. 27. ‘We thought he had exactly what we were looking for. From the first conversation
I had with him up through now, it’s been about how we can get him to be the best that he can be.
“I think we all dove into this the right way to go find a guy who hopefully can solve our quarterback issue. This guy has been named the starter, but he still has to earn the right to be the starting quarterback for this team week in and week out and I think he gets that. But he has the talent, he has the makeup and he has the things we’re looking for. Now, we just have to go get him and push him on to that next level.”
For Jackson to say in one sentence, “This is not just for the moment,” and two minutes later say Kizer has to earn it every week sounds contradictory.
It isn’t, though. When he says Kizer has to earn it each week he means the rookie has to keep working the way he is now, not that he has to meet a standard of success.
Kizer has a strong arm and the legs to be a winner in the NFL. But those are physical tools. Time against first-team defenses for entire games will tell whether he has the football I.Q. to succeed.
The Browns’ receiving corps is not good after Corey Coleman.
Kizer has that working against him, but he has a coach who believes in him, and that is a great way to start a career.
Reach Schudel at JSchudel@News-Herald. com. On Twitter: @jsproinsider