Kizer isn't though a guy who will be ready to play at all in season 1, so barring injuries this kid isn't going to play no matter how good it bad we are doing. He came out as probably the least NFL ready of all the QBs in this draft, but like Mahomes has a very high ceiling, just needs to sit and learn for a year or so hence why he is a developmental QB. If we allow him to sit and learn and maybe play some garbage time, he could possibly be a very good NFL QB, I just hope the media, fans and Haslem understand this guy needs to sit. Sitting isn't always a bad thing, Palmer sat a season, Rodgers sat, Brady would have sat if not for injuries. Now they did sit behind good Pro QBs, but I think with Jackson at the helm we should be fine with his development as long as we allow him to develop.
I see no reason why Kizer could not play from day one and this is for multiple reason:
1) I don't believe in sitting guys in the NFL. If the teams believes you to be a franchise guy, get him out there and let him play. Guys do not sit in the NFL anymore unless they have obvious, serious holes in their game. I don't think Kizer's problems are going to be fixed by sitting on the bench. His problem is consistency, and the only way to get consistency is to get him snaps and play him immediately.
2) There is no one else who warrants snaps over Kizer. There is no vet for him to sit and watch, there is not a guy with higher upside than him and there is, as described above, no holes that need fixed by him sitting. Kessler is a real solid NFL Spot Starter, but he's still young too. You would just be wasting time starting Kessler over Kizer.
3) Kizer is entering a very good spot right now, believe it or not. What is Cleveland's biggest hole offensively right now? Slot WR? RB? He has two solid WR'ers, he has a 1st round TE with a pretty decent 2nd TE, he has a good stable of running backs who showed production, and he has an elite offensive line that will not murder him. He's not going to get Tim Couch'd into the ground, he's not going to get blasted by a defense. I think Kizer's biggest flaw is that sometimes, when getting rushed, he loses his mechanics and that's where you get a ball skipped to a WR. I don't think he'll face that here, not at the outset.
Kizer is a lotto ticket, honestly. Arm talent wise, he and Mahomes were 1A/1B. He cannot throw it further than Mahomes and he doesn't have that elite natural accuracy at times, but Kizer does throw the ball extremely well. In 2015, he was shredding people with perfect drop passes into Will Fuller's bread basket, throwing incredibly touch passes to CJ Prosise, and getting great protection from Stanley on his left side. This year, he did not have that same luxury, while also having to deal with a HC that, for some reason, wanted a guy that clearly was not more talented than him to play. Zaier should have been stapled to the bench for Kizer, but Kelly is a moron.
The talent is all there. The guy is actually very aware in the pocket, sometimes overly aware in the pocket. He climbes the pocket with ease and can throw pinpoint passes literally anywhere on the field. There is not a throw that he cannot make, and has not made on tape. If he gains consistency, he will be an elite QB. Of recent QB's to come out, if Carson Wentz and Jameis Winston can play day one, I see no reason that Kizer should not play day one. I actually cannot believe that no one took this lotto ticket sooner, I thought for sure he would end up with Ariens in Arizona.
All this being said, there are some serious flaws to him as well, stuff that Jackson needs to coach him about. He does not have a super quick release. It's got a funky loop sometimes, which is not a game breaker but it is a concern. He does stare down target #1 for a long period of time. I don't think he's a bad kid, but it does sound like sometimes, he thinks his shit don't stink. Hue won't tolerate that for too long out his guys. I think he was handed some humility last year at ND, and I think with Hue being in his ear all offseason, maybe he trusts and respects Hue to let him in to be his mentor.
We'll see. If I'm the Browns, start him game #1 and let him go. If he flounders this year with no hope for the future, get Kessler in there and aim for 2018's QB. But right now, as we stand, Kizer needs to get on the field ASAP and play some games.
