The Browns passed on the perceived top quarterbacks in the draft, including trading out of the chance to draft Deshaun Watson. But they took DeShone Kizer in the second round, and that looks promising so far. Kizer has reportedly been getting some first-team reps at OTAs.
Quarterbacks coach David Lee, though, says Kizer isn't ready to play. He's making progress and getting better, but that's not the same as being an early-season starter or anything.
It's rare -- but not out of the question -- for a second-round quarterback to make an immediate impact. This century, there have been 20 passers taken in the second round. As rookies, only three reached 1,600 passing yards. Only three threw more than 5 TD passes.
Two of them did so since 2011, and have turned out pretty well: Andy Dalton and Derek Carr. Maybe Kizer joins that group. But odds are that he'll start out on the bench, and it's unlikely he puts up big numbers as a rookie. Second-rounders below are sorted by passing yards. Dalton and Carr, incidentally, were drafted half a round earlier than Kizer.
| SECOND-ROUND QUARTERBACKS, 2000-PRESENT | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pick | Player | Com | Att | Pct | YdP | TDP | Int |
| 2017 | 52 | DeShone Kizer, Clev. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2011 | 35 | Andy Dalton, Cin. | 300 | 516 | 58.1 | 3398 | 20 | 13 |
| 2014 | 36 | Derek Carr, Oak. | 348 | 599 | 58.1 | 3270 | 21 | 12 |
| 2013 | 39 | Geno Smith, NYJ | 247 | 443 | 55.8 | 3046 | 12 | 21 |
| 2010 | 48 | Jimmy Clausen, Car. | 157 | 299 | 52.5 | 1558 | 3 | 9 |
| 2001 | 53 | Quincy Carter, Dall. | 90 | 176 | 51.1 | 1072 | 5 | 7 |
| 2007 | 40 | John Beck, Mia. | 60 | 107 | 56.1 | 559 | 1 | 6 |
| 2006 | 64 | Tarvaris Jackson, Minn. | 47 | 81 | 58.0 | 475 | 2 | 4 |
| 2001 | 32 | Drew Brees, S.D. | 15 | 27 | 55.6 | 221 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | 62 | Jimmy Garoppolo, N.E. | 19 | 27 | 70.4 | 182 | 1 | 0 |
| 2008 | 57 | Chad Henne, Mia. | 7 | 12 | 58.3 | 67 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | 36 | Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | 3 | 5 | 60.0 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 59 | Marques Tuiasosopo, Oak. | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 57 | Brock Osweiler, Den. | 2 | 4 | 50.0 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 51 | Christian Hackenberg, NYJ | 0 | 0 | .0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 44 | Pat White, Mia. | 0 | 5 | .0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 56 | Brian Brohm, G.B. | 0 | 0 | .0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 36 | Kevin Kolb, Phil. | 0 | 0 | .0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 43 | Drew Stanton, Det. | 0 | 0 | .0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 49 | Kellen Clemens, NYJ | 1 | 0 | .0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
--Andy Richardson