Cleveland Browns 5 worst draft picks of the past 5 years

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Dec 31, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer (7) looks for a receiver against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Browns Draft miss No. 4: DeShone Kizer

While I am not convinced that DeShone Kizer was inherently a bad player, it is inarguable that Kizer will be remembered as a huge draft miss for the Browns. When Cleveland selected Kizer with the 52nd overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft, they made the Notre Dame signal-caller the fourth quarterback selected in the draft. Kizer went behind: Mitchell Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes, and some guy named Deshaun Watson.

In hindsight, Kizer never stood a chance in Cleveland. While the signal-caller had all the measurables, Kizer had next to nothing surrounding him on the field and even less help coming from the coaching staff.

Kizer’s supporting cast was basically Duke Johnson, Isaiah Crowell, and Ricardo Louis. The young man never stood a chance.

He was thrown into the fire and was left there to burn. His rookie season consisted of 15 losing starts where he compiled 11 touchdowns to 22 interceptions and completed just shy of 54 percent of his pass attempts. There was never a lifeline thrown to help save the rookie and he was left to just figure it out on the field.

Spoiler alert, Kizer was not able to figure it out and was shipped out of Cleveland the following offseason. In short, Kizer’s career as a Brown died so that the franchise may live.

Players that were still on the board when Kizer was selected: Alvin Kamara, Cooper Kupp, Chris Godwin, Kareem Hunt, and JuJu Smith Schuster among others.

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