CLEVELAND HOPING QB KIZER WILL BE THE ANSWER
Notre Dame pivot gets shot at solving team’s quandary
Well, the Cleveland Browns finally selected a quarterback on Friday night: DeShone Kizer from the University of Notre Dame.
With the 52nd overall pick in Round 2 of the NFL Draft, the Browns added Kizer to an impressive collection of firstround picks from Thursday night: No. 1 overall selection Myles Garrett (a defensive end from Texas A&M), No. 25 Jabrill Peppers (a multi-use safety from Michigan) and No. 29 David Njoku (a tight end from Miami-Florida).
Kizer was the fourth quarterback taken in this draft and the first on Day 2, after Mitchell Trubisky (Chicago at No. 2 overall), Patrick Mahomes II (Kansas City at No. 10) and Deshaun Watson (Houston at No. 12) were snagged on Thursday. Cleveland passed on all three, a substantial surprise. Whether Kizer can be the long-term answer at quarterback that the Cleveland franchise so desperately seeks and requires — after so many failed draft picks and free-agent pickups this century — is up for debate.
The six-foot-four, 233-pound Kizer was seen before the draft as perhaps the possessor of more promise than any other thrower in this class. Some draftniks, such as Josh Norris of Rotoworld, even saw Kizer as the top QB prospect.
But although he has a strong arm and other impressive physical skills, the native of Toledo, Ohio, often unravelled at deciding moments in big games for the Fighting Irish. As his poise fell apart, so did his mechanics.
The Browns must believe that college shortcoming is fixable.
Kizer surely will be given every opportunity in spring practice and summer training camp to win the Browns’ starting QB job this year. His competition so far is just second-year Cody Kessler, an average-armed try-hard guy who proved he’s not the long-term solution, and Houston Texans discard Brock Osweiler.
BAD- BOY BENGALS
As for Ohio’s other team, the Cincinnati Bengals sure seem intent on becoming the bad boys of the NFL.
Apparently it wasn’t enough that head coach Marv Lewis’ team already was amply stocked with off- and on-field troublemakers and trouble-finders. Especially Pacman Jones and Vontaze Burfict.
On Friday night, the Bengals added the most notorious — and to many teams, toxic — player in this year’s draft: Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. Cincinnati selected him with the 48th overall pick, about halfway through the second round.
It was in January 2014 — hours after Mixon turned 18 — that he was with a group of friends when he punched a local woman in the face at a Norman, Okla., restaurant, after she allegedly rejected Mixon’s sexual advances.
Mixon pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanour assault charge, but eventually was convicted and sentenced to 100 hours of community service and behavioural counselling. The Sooners suspended him for the entire 2014 season.
Mixon returned in 2015, claimed the incident was an aberration, and over the past two seasons not only behaved himself off the field but on the field proved to be a surprisingly athletic, agile and speedy running back despite his hefty sixfoot-one, 226-pound frame.
Last December, his lawyer released surveillance tape of the 2014 assault to the public. It’s not a pretty sight. Mixon’s draft stock tumbled.
Reports from NFL insiders said many teams eliminated Mixon entirely from their draft boards.
The Bengals obviously didn’t. Lewis believes he can work with and help rehabilitate players with sordid pasts, even those with hair-trigger tempers who continue to get into trouble. Either that or the Bengals just don’t give a crap how sordid that past might be, and are happy to scoop up good players shunned by other clubs.
Either way, Lewis has perhaps his biggest PR hurdle to clear with Mixon. And on his Bengals, that’s saying something.
OUTFOXED OWN COACH?!
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen dropped this bombshell a day after the Chicago Bears dropped the biggest one during Day 1 of the draft. Mortenson reported that Chicago GM Ryan Pace did not inform head coach John Fox of his plan to trade up from No. 3 overall to No. 2 — to select Trubisky — until just a couple of hours before the draft.
If true ... wow. Not exactly a signal of harmony and unity in Year 3 of their regime.
TWO BILLS TRADE- UPS
A night after signalling that perhaps the Buffalo Bills — voluntary relinquisher of more draft picks this decade than any other NFL club — resumed their unwise old ways by twice trading up in, then into, the second round. At least it was to fill two positions of screaming need.
With the 37th overall pick the Bills picked up prolific wide receiver Zay Jones from East Carolina. Then with No. 63 overall the Bills nabbed guard-tackle Dion Dawkins from Temple University.
Those and other deals left Buf- falo with no scheduled picks in either Round 3 or 4.
SATURDAY WIND- UP
The NFL’s 82nd Draft concludes Saturday with Rounds 4-7 starting at noon EDT. Teams have five minutes to make a pick in rounds 4-6, and four minutes in Round 7. NFL Network is airing the proceedings live from Philadelphia. TSN is not carrying ESPN’s live feed, but TSN subscribers can watch it live online at TSN GO.
EXTRA POINTS
Cleveland dumped tight end Gary Barnidge, a surprise move a day after selecting one of the draft’s top tight ends in Njoku
... The New York Jets reportedly are shopping DL Sheldon Richardson again ... There were so many trades in Round 2, the first five selectors in the second round were different from the pre-determined order. Instead of Cleveland, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Chicago and the Los Angeles Rams starting off Round 2, it was Green Bay, Jacksonville, Seattle, Arizona and Buffalo.