Cleveland Browns: What’s best for DeShone Kizer?

All indications are that DeShone Kizer has won the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback job, but it’s by default and may do more damage in the long run.

DeShone Kizer had his most productive game of the preseason in terms of growth and development against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The rookie finished 6-of-18 for 93 yards and an interception, leading the team to just three points, but the performance was certainly better than the numbers would suggest. Better enough to warrant starting for the Cleveland Browns? Not exactly.

The competition for starting quarterback in Cleveland was largely a sham because two of the competitors decided to drop out of the competition. Brock Osweiler and Cody Kessler may have worked hard to compete, but in the end, it was as if they weren’t even there. Ineffectiveness and problems that carried over from last year doomed them both in the end, leaving Kizer as the only one still standing.

So much of Kizer is being looked at through rookie-colored glasses. What he does right is magnified substantially while the mistakes he makes are minimized or dismissed entirely, because he’s a rookie.

The game against the Buccaneers showed this really well. On third-and-5, Kizer was patient, stepped up in the pocket and made an incredible throw and catch on an ad-libbed route by Corey Coleman. The throw was fit in almost perfectly, allowing Coleman to make a highlight-reel catch that gained 32 yards. All of this while it was raining, increasing the level of difficulty.

It was easily the best play of Kizer’s young career and he did a little bit of everything. Showing poise, patience, maneuvering in the pocket to draw defenders toward him and then making a pinpoint throw that only his guy can catch. As great as that was, it also accounted for a third of Kizer’s passing yardage for the day.

More from Cleveland Browns

Yes, Kizer was victimized by three drops on the night and a fumble that killed drives near the red zone. Even if all those passes were caught and the fumble didn’t happen, Kizer completes half of his passes and the Browns score maybe 14 points.

Completing 50 percent of 18 passes and scoring two touchdowns in a preseason game against a team without all their starters is not a quantum leap. It’s certainly a step in the right direction and a positive development for a quarterback that can use success and confidence to build upon, but holding that up as a reason to be the starter is shaky at best.

For all the good moments for Kizer — and there were a number of them — there was also his share of negative plays. Staring down receivers, reading slowly, streaky accuracy and missing opportunities were chief among them. The first two combined for an almost interception when a corner jumped a route to the sideline and will be something opponents focus on in their preparation for the rookie. The latter pair both against the Bucs and the New York Giants, left plays on the field, missing open targets down the field.

It’s possible that Kizer is the best quarterback currently on the Browns roster and, therefore, there is a compelling argument to make him the starter as a result. As true as that may be, that is less about Kizer and more an indictment of the organization for not providing options. Kizer is probably better than Osweiler and Kessler, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready. He’s just better than two bad quarterbacks.

Kizer has a lot of similarities to fellow rookie David Njoku. Both are 21 years old, have shown tremendous flashes to be excited about, but have a lot of growing in the NFL to do. The key difference is that the Browns have other tight ends, so they can be more patient with Njoku, ease him in as opposed to relying on him to be a major component of the offense right away.

Kizer starting is due at least in part to their lack of options. If the Browns had a quarterback, any quarterback that could play a little bit, the decision would be easy and Kizer would be sitting. That fact alone should be the only factor in the decision on how to handle Kizer, but Jackson is going to go ahead and play him. How much of that fact is rooted in good reason as opposed to hubris remains to be seen.

TAMPA, FL – AUGUST 26: Quarterback DeShone Kizer #7 of the Cleveland Browns huddles the offense during the second quarter of an NFL preseason football game on August 26, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

It all boils down to one question: What is the best plan for Kizer? Take everything else out of the equation and just focus on this simple point. If sitting him would help him get more of a handle on the offense, help him understand what defenses are trying to do to him, help him process and read faster, then he’s better off for it.

Just as important is avoiding having Kizer pick up bad habits to survive. Not making proper reads, having his mechanics regress and making plays or throws simply to try to move the ball or to avoid taking additional hits. Once Kizer goes in, it becomes incredibly difficult to bench him for options the Browns have already declared terrible.

More from NFL Spin Zone

Even if Osweiler and Kessler might be worse in the moment, the Browns are focused on 2018 and beyond. If Kizer is someone that can potentially be a franchise passer, do everything possible to put him in the best position to succeed. No one is going to care about the quarterback play of 2017 if it ultimately helps produce a franchise passer for 2019.

Should Kizer play all 16 games this year, they still aren’t going to have a true answer on who Kizer will be in the NFL as a fully developed player. In fact, it can only really work against him, short of divine intervention. Look no further than Jared Goff, who was awful as a rookie in 2017. He played and the Los Angeles Rams still don’t know what he is. Even though the early returns were far better, the Philadelphia Eagles still can’t be entirely sure what Carson Wentz will be.

The Browns are going to take a quarterback in 2018, whether Kizer is a revelation, a bum, or somewhere in between. That’s who this front office is and who Hue is. It has been their focus since they were hired, attacking quarterback every way possible in search of an answer and to improve the position. They aren’t going to simply go with Kizer and something akin to Osweiler, Kessler and Hogan in 2018.

Not only do they have the draft assets to get a quarterback they like, they don’t want to put all their quarterbacking eggs in one basket. Even if Kizer is great in 2017, if he gets hurt or doesn’t progress in 2018, the Browns are right back in the quarterbacking muck. If Kizer is legitimately a great quarterback, he’ll win a competition next year and the Browns might have multiple quarterback assets as opposed to none, with a nice backup and potential trade asset down the road.

Getting past the excitement of Kizer big, talented, shiny and new, as well as the futility of the other quarterbacks on the roster, what he has in terms of help around him, there is only sobering question that should matter when it comes to the rookie quarterback. What is the best path for the Browns to attempt to maximize him as a player? The answer to that question should be how the Browns move forward with Kizer.

Next: NFL 2017: One superstar megatrade for each team

As it is, Hue Jackson is going to go ahead and have DeShone Kizer be his starter not only for Week 1, but for the entire season, assuming he stays healthy. The hope for the Browns is that, despite how Kizer got the starting job, he is able to continue to progress and adapt well trying to learn on the job, ultimately being better for it. Beyond the Cleveland Browns as a team, it’s about hoping that this works out the best for Kizer.