Kizer Will Be a 1st Round Pick

[South Bender]

Decker, in full agreement. His combine performance was typical of his career at ND. Great arm and some great throws mixed with some poor accuracy. His mechanics continue to be an issue, and I think his draft position will largely depend on assessments of how readily these are correctable.

Yes, but his mechanics and measurables were never the reasons why scouts loved him.
It's his intangibles.

Tom Brady himself has said it's a good thing there's more to being a QB in the NFL than measurables, otherwise he would have never been drafted at all.

Kizer has the uncanny ability to stay calm in the pocket. He can read defenses. He doesn't panic. He's almost completely oblivious to the pass rush. These are traits that cannot be taught - or underestimated - and the scouts love it. The accuracy and the mechanics can all be tweaked by the right coach on the right team.

 

[SiberianKnightmare]

He's not going 1st round. He'll drop to the 2nd round. Hopefully get picked up by a good team looking for a steal at QB that they can develop behind their current QB for a few years.

 

[Telx1]

Yes, but his mechanics and measurables were never the reasons why scouts loved him.
It's his intangibles.

Tom Brady himself has said it's a good thing there's more to being a QB in the NFL than measurables, otherwise he would have never been drafted at all.

Kizer has the uncanny ability to stay calm in the pocket. He can read defenses. He doesn't panic. He's almost completely oblivious to the pass rush. These are traits that cannot be taught - or underestimated - and the scouts love it. The accuracy and the mechanics can all be tweaked by the right coach on the right team.

South Bender, I largely disagree with this. The scouts love his NFL prototype size, his arm strength, his experience in a pro like offense, and his smarts. The concerns are with his low completion %, short and mid range throw inaccuracy, holding the ball too long, and his fourth qtr struggles. Based on your criteria, Deshaun Watson of Clemson is the hands down first QB to be drafted.

 

[TheDecker]

Yes, but his mechanics and measurables were never the reasons why scouts loved him.
It's his intangibles.

Tom Brady himself has said it's a good thing there's more to being a QB in the NFL than measurables, otherwise he would have never been drafted at all.

Kizer has the uncanny ability to stay calm in the pocket. He can read defenses. He doesn't panic. He's almost completely oblivious to the pass rush. These are traits that cannot be taught - or underestimated - and the scouts love it. The accuracy and the mechanics can all be tweaked by the right coach on the right team.

I'm not sure I agree with you about "Reading the Defense". Sometime he showed a good ability to do this, but other times he look rushed and made completely wrong decisions and/or overlooked wide-open players (usually over the middle, especially TE's and Slots)

I would love Kizer's upside if I was an NFL team, but (personally) I don't think there is any area of his game, not a single one, that's ready for the NFL. Because of that, it would be hard to draft him in the 1st Round...bc teams are basically forced to start all 1st Round QB's in Year 1...regardless of whether they're ready or not.

That being said...it's possible that dropping in the draft could eventually help him, if he gets picked up by a team that doesn't need immediate help at QB, and can take the time to develop him.

If I'm Kizer, I'm praying that I somehow end up being drafted in Round 2 by the Steelers.

 

[impossibilityofreason1]

It appears neither Kizer, Jones, or Rochelle had a good combine. It has to affect their draft status. It doesn't measure everything but it is not meaningless otherwise NFL teams wouldn't scout the combine.

 

[South Bender]

South Bender, I largely disagree with this. The scouts love his NFL prototype size, his arm strength, his experience in a pro like offense, and his smarts. The concerns are with his low completion %, short and mid range throw inaccuracy, holding the ball too long, and his fourth qtr struggles. Based on your criteria, Deshaun Watson of Clemson is the hands down first QB to be drafted.

I agree with you on his other traits - size, strength etc. He is a prototype for an NFL QB.

Keep in mind that he only played two years in college. He can be made better through development. And clearly there are some teams willing to do that.

As for draft status, I never said he SHOULD be the 1st QB taken. Maybe it will be Watson. I guess I was just giving reasons for why a kid with barely any experience, low completion %, bad W/L record, inaccurate arm would be garnering all the attention he's getting. Because all of the above can be taught and/or corrected. The "IT" factor (which he seems to have) cannot be taught.

AND.......guys with measurable are a dime a dozen. Guys with "IT" factor are not. hence the slobbering by the scouts all over Kizer.

 

[mbd11]

Honestly I don't get it. Of the following recent QB's:
Brady Q
Jimmy C
Everette G
Tommy R
DeShone K

The only QB he outperformed would be Tommy, and that might be questionable if we are using W-L records.

Good luck to DeShone though, I hope he goes number 1.

I hope he succeeds better than Quinn and Clausen did. Quinn was a great college QB, but he lacked the accuracy for the NFL. Clausen lacked escapability and a quick release, so he wasn't good under a fierce pass rush. Even in college, he didn't fare too well under a fierce pass rush (see BC game 2008).

But the jury's still out on Kizer in the NFL. We won't know until he actually gets to training camp, and plays in a few games, whether he can read defenses, has the necessary accuracy, etc.

 

[Telx1]

I agree with you on his other traits - size, strength etc. He is a prototype for an NFL QB.

Keep in mind that he only played two years in college. He can be made better through development. And clearly there are some teams willing to do that.

As for draft status, I never said he SHOULD be the 1st QB taken. Maybe it will be Watson. I guess I was just giving reasons for why a kid with barely any experience, low completion %, bad W/L record, inaccurate arm would be garnering all the attention he's getting. Because all of the above can be taught and/or corrected. The "IT" factor (which he seems to have) cannot be taught.

AND.......guys with measurable are a dime a dozen. Guys with "IT" factor are not. hence the slobbering by the scouts all over Kizer.

I understand your point, and hope you are right. I thought Kizer had the IT factor as you suggest during his first year leading the team, but started to seriously question this in year two. Lots of variables played a part in last years poor team showing, and lots of unknowns to us as well; so I don't want to lay the blame on Kizer or suggest this should affect his NFL draft status. That said, I think there are major questions about his struggles last year and many of these same concerns were on display with his inconsistent performance at the combine. Correcting the mechanical issues involves a ton of work and the ability to adapt and NOT default to lifelong mechanics under pressure, and I don't think this is nearly as simple as you suggest. Like Decker, I think Kizer would be well served to get drafted in the second or third round by a team with an established older QB, where he is afforded the time and opportunity to develop without the pressure and expectation that comes with being a first round draftee.

 

[john0gaunt]

I hope he succeeds better than Quinn and Clausen did. Quinn was a great college QB, .... Even in college, he didn't fare too well under a fierce pass rush (see BC game 2008).

But the jury's still out on Kizer in the NFL. We won't know until he actually gets to training camp, and plays in a few games, whether he can read defenses, has the necessary accuracy, etc.

I need to stop now because I try not to talk any of our kids down so best of luck to Kizer and I hope he does well in the draft and with his new team. Best to hit the draft as high high high as possible. And hit the league as ready as possible.

 

[Nocalirish]

Kizer's combine wasnt great but better than rapist Jameis and he still went high.

 

[mbd11]

I need to stop now because I try not to talk any of our kids down so best of luck to Kizer and I hope he does well in the draft and with his new team. Best to hit the draft as high high high as possible. And hit the league as ready as possible.

And BTW when I said the jury's still out on Kizer until he actually gets to training camp and plays a few games, I mean that about any rookie QB. They're tough to predict. Just look at last year: the best rookie QB was a 4th-rounder, while the #1 pick didn't do much.

 

[floridairish]

The Browns are were QB's go to die.

Otto Graham, Bill Nelson, Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar. This dimwitted poster continues to establish the fact he knows nothing about football. Past, Present or Future. Next time you clean your ears try not jamming the Q Tip into your pea sized brain

 

[Telx1]

Kizer's combine wasnt great but better than rapist Jameis and he still went high.

This is correct in terms of the athletic measurables, but totally wrong with respect to throwing performance. Jameis went to the combine with a reputation of a high football IQ and ability to read and go through his progressions under fire, and he blew folks away with his football smarts and his throwing performance. Kizer came to the combine with concerns about his throwing accuracy and he did nothing to dispel these.

 

[dohster]

going in the 2nd round would be the best for him..

 

[Nocalirish]

He still goes first round. Bet on it.

 

[REMND]

I can't tell. His combine results did not cause a bump in interest for him. His interviews went well I think.

There does not seem to be a bunch of positive chatter about him but a little bit of negative right now. Not sure if it is misdirection or if scouts are cooling on him.

I still think he goes in the first round or at least the 2nd. Too much potential to not I think. No idea where within those first 64 picks. In almost all of the mock drafts, I see him going as the 3rd QB.

 

[Toby Smart]

Even though Da Bears signed Mike Glennon, word is they are still going to draft a QB. Welcome to Chitown DK.

 

[Nocalirish]

Kizer is better than most of the free agent NFL QB's that are being signed and alot cheaper even as a high first rounder. I will take him over the guy the Bears just signed easy.

 

[HuddleBurger]

It sounds like Fourth Quarter Kizer showed up for the combine unfortunately. If First Quarter Kizer had shown up, look out!

 

[BGI User 1596]

It sounds like Fourth Quarter Kizer showed up for the combine unfortunately. If First Quarter Kizer had shown up, look out!

Maybe a 4th rounder!

 

[deadirishpoet]

Otto Graham, Bill Nelson, Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar. This dimwitted poster continues to establish the fact he knows nothing about football. Past, Present or Future. Next time you clean your ears try not jamming the Q Tip into your pea sized brain

Clueless classless and ignorant is no way to go through life

Each one of them quarterback you've mention done nothing to elevate the Cleveland Browns into a championship team. You've picked the wrong fight again
History is proving me right and you ignorant

 

[Bumpdaddy]

It sounds like Fourth Quarter Kizer showed up for the combine unfortunately. If First Quarter Kizer had shown up, look out!

I watched the QB's throw at the combine. Kizer did not look nearly as bad as a lot of the talking heads made it sound like. He wasn't spraying the ball all over the place like some of the participants were (Trevor Knight was awful). His performance was mixed, which is not the same thing as saying it was bad, and yet a lot of sports reporters made it sound like it was a really bad performance. If you want a very good analysis of DK's combine performance read Bryan Driskell's detailed analysis. I think he was spot on:

https://notredame.rivals.com/news/evaluating-qb-deshone-kizer-s-nfl-combine-performance

The most notable passage from this article is this:

"Kizer’s performance during the throwing drills was similar to his on-field performance during Notre Dame’s 2016 season. There were throws he made that were outstanding, arguably better than what we saw from any other quarterback at the event.

The issue for Kizer was there were too many missed throws on relatively easy routes that were due to poor mechanics. It caused his overall performance to suffer compared to other top quarterbacks, but the positive is that Kizer was able to show off the arm talent that has some – like NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock – ranking him as the top quarterback in this draft."
​

Bottom line: DK needs to work on his mechanics, as do most other QB prospects. The reporters who were singling him out as having a particularly bad combine were over-reacting. They seem to have binary thinking where, if he didn't have a great combine performance, then he must have had a bad combine performance. There's a lot of space between those two extremes and I think DK was on the good-but-not-great side of the spectrum. I also think part of the negative DK hype is an effort by some to elevate Deshaun Watson. Many think Watson was undoubtedly the best college QB (I agree with them) and think too many other experts are wrongly assuming his skill set and body measurables won't translate to the NFL, and they think it's very wrong to elevate Kizer to elite QB status when his college performance doesn't even come close to Watson's. Dabo Swinney's comments a couple of months ago in defense of his player has likely played into that narrative.

Watson had a better combine performance, no doubt. But it wasn't outstanding. None of the participants were outstanding. If I were to sum up both DW's and DK's combine I'd simply say this: Both performed about as well as you'd expect. Any GM who might be assessing between the two prospects right now is probably not going to put a lot of weight on what he saw at the combine. I think it will all come down to which prospect he thinks has the best chance to adapt to the pro game. Right now I doubt anyone is ready to put all their eggs in either basket but someone will pull the trigger for each when the time comes. What happens after that is anyone's guess. My guess? I believe Kizer will eventually clean up his mechanics and become the better pro QB, but what do I know?