DeShone Kizer didn’t flinch. The second-round pick and possible future franchise quarterback took one more question before his first practice at rookie minicamp on Friday. He talked through the noise.
“The clear message with the Browns is it’s all about winning,” Kizer said. “It’s all about understanding your responsibilities about being the pro you need to be to win.”
MORE: Kizer’s development key for Browns in 2017
Kizer heard those messages from coach Hue Jackson, who enters his second year coming off a 1-15 season in 2016.
Kizer heard that from general manager Sashi Brown, who has delivered the message to 24 draft picks in the last two seasons with his analytical approach alongside chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta.
Kizer heard that from quarterbacks coach David Lee, who joins the staff after a stint in Buffalo.
Kizer heard that from Jim Brown — “Mr. Brown” — who addressed the team before the start of the camp. Brown played on Cleveland’s last NFL championship team in 1964.
It has been a long time since Cleveland heard that.
“I think that all kind of pushes in the same direction,” Kizer said. “In order to get back to winning you have to understand your position and try to maximize your own growth.”
Cleveland generated buzz with high grades at the 2017 NFL Draft, a haul that included No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett and fellow first-round picks Jabrill Peppers and David Njoku. Those three are part of a 10-player class whose own message hasn’t yet been deciphered. Those messages have come and gone since 1999, when the Browns returned to the NFL. It’s an innovative approach in this rebuild, but the same old questions persist.
Who is the quarterback? How soon will those first-round picks make an impact? Will this whole “Moneyball” thing pay off? When? The Cavaliers are closing in on another NBA Finals appearance, and the Indians are trying to get back to the World Series. When will the Browns have their turn in “Believeland”?
Kizer exited the podium, and the train rolled on.
“We have to come in with an attitude of how much we can change in a year,” third-round pick Larry Ogunjobi said a few minutes before Kizer.
From almost anybody else, that sort of statement falls on deaf ears. Ogunjobi can actually back it up.
The 6-2, 305-pound nose tackle is the son of parents who moved to the United States from Nigeria, and he’s also the founding face of a college football program. He’s the first player ever selected from Charlotte, which made the leap from FCS to FBS in just two years. Ogunjobi served as a run-stuffing force who totaled 29 tackles for loss over the last two seasons for the 49ers.
Ogunjobi stretched out a massive left hand palm up and described how those lessons translate to reversing the fortunes of the Browns.
“It’s not impossible,” he said. “I’ve been a part of a program where I’ve started every game in our school’s history. I’ve seen a program going from the ground up. It’s possible to turn things around. You just have to really want to. … It’s all about finding the right pieces and getting inside that puzzle and making the most of it.”
Ogunjobi’s roommate could be the centerpiece of that puzzle in Cleveland.
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Ogunjobi describes Garrett as “very humble.” The 6-4, 272-pound edge rusher was the had-to-do-it No.1 pick, and the early returns are favorable.
When Garrett took his turn on the podium, the topic turned to the fact that he passed on an invitation to a Cavaliers playoff game the night after getting drafted so he could get in a workout at the hotel. That account is true.
Garrett’s ambivalence toward the spotlight isn’t disrespectful. It’s just part of his makeup. Garrett’s answers run short, except when it comes to the challenge of helping turn around a franchise known for stumbling into its own punchlines.
“It doesn’t bother me at all,” he said. “These guys know what kind of standard they have here. They’re trying to turn things around. They have a standard of winning. That is every rep on and off of the field. We are trying to hold ourselves to that standard.”
Garrett is the fourth No. 1 overall pick in franchise history, and the third since the franchise returned in 1999. Tim Couch (1999) and Courtney Brown (2000) didn’t pan out. Garrett must give the Browns a pass rusher it hasn’t had since coming back. The best they’ve had since then is Kamerion Wimbley, who had 26.5 sacks from 2006-09. Garrett faces that standard.
In the meantime, Garrett has latched onto veteran linebacker Jamie Collins and offensive tackle Joe Thomas, the latter a 10-time Pro Bowl tackle and future Hall of Famer who has spent his entire in Cleveland. Garrett was asked if Thomas had delivered any messages.
“That he’s going to whip my behind,” Garrett said before praising Thomas’ leadership.
That account also is true.
Jackson after the practice was asked for his first impression of Garrett. Four superlatives tumbled out first.
“Athletic, fast, big, fun,” Jackson said. “He is very talented. He is going to have to earn the right to be what we think he can be. We are not just going to hand him anything.”
Garrett isn’t the only rookie who fits that description. Peppers, the most polarizing player in the 2017 NFL Draft, was a Heisman Trophy finalist who played double-digit positions at Michigan. Ogunjobi and sixth-round pick Caleb Brantley should beef up the interior. The Browns ranked 30th in scoring defense and 31st in yards allowed last season.
Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was brought on to change those standings, and his well-documented, in-your-face style is easy to see. Williams made himself visible on that first day of rookie minicamp. We saw some of that on “Hard Knocks” with the Rams last summer. Jackson hears the same things.
“I laugh really hard,” Jackson said before settling into a more serious tone. “He has a way of getting guys to do what he needs to do. I think our players are really going to benefit. I think the defensive side of the ball will really benefit from his tutelage and the knowledge that he has and how he gets them to do it.”
The offense, meanwhile, featured a Kizer-to-Njoku connection during drills. The 6-4, 246-pound tight end even leapt into the air and clicked his heels to show off that athleticism. Jackson, meanwhile, again used those adjectives about Njoku.
“He is a big, fast guy, right?” Jackson asked rhetorically. “He looks good. He can run.”
Big. Fast. Fun. Could it be this easy in Cleveland?
It never is easy for the Browns.
Brantley started the interview session Friday. He’s still going through the legal process after facing allegations he punched a woman in the face on April 13 in Gainesville, Fla. Brantley slipped to the sixth round of the draft. Brantley didn’t answer questions about the alleged incident, but he did elaborate on that slide.
“My heart was a little heavy watching the draft,” he said. “It was hard to watch it. When I saw the Browns called me and selected me I was just thankful for the opportunity.”
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The drama around Peppers also infiltrated the first day. Peppers had a dilute sample at the NFL Combine that was revealed days before the draft. He addressed that issue, as well. On May 17, Cleveland radio station WKNR cut ties with host Sabrina Parr shortly after she claimed Peppers was on “the lean and the molly” and “high all the time.”
Peppers spent most of his interview denying those claims and describing how he plans on clearing the NFL drug program.
“Absolutely not, never in my life (have I used those substances),” Peppers said. “Whatever drugs she says I have done, I have never done in my life.”
Those are the types of risks that haven’t worked in the Browns’ favor of late with players such as Josh Gordon and Johnny Manziel, among others. Peppers and Brantley are the types of players who could make — or break — this class. Peppers, whom Jackson described as an “energy bunny,” is an enticing piece in Williams’ defense. Brantley could be part of a front that features Ogunjobi and Garrett.
An injury also interrupted camp. Cleveland lost fourth-round cornerback Howard Wilson to a fractured patella, which requires surgery. That’s what every team hopes to avoid this time of year.
That’s still not addressing the missing piece of the puzzle — the one the Browns haven’t been able to figure out since they released Bernie Kosar.
It’s clear Cleveland has put pieces around a quarterback.The Browns also beefed up their offensive line by signing Kevin Zeitler from Cincinnati and J.C. Tretter from Green Bay as free agents.
That quarterback question won’t be answered until the preseason. Will Cody Kessler, who finished 0-8 as a starter last year, be that guy? Or will it be Brock Osweiler, brought over from Houston in an NBA-style trade that turned heads around the league?
The newest contender is Kizer, a 6-4, 233-pound Ohio native who presents the same old dilemma for the Browns. Will he be a future star and the savior at quarterback? Or will he be the next spoke on a quarterback wheel that could produce its 27th different starter if Kessler isn’t the guy in Week 1?
MORE: Should rookie QBs start or sit?
It’s a never-perfect science. Kizer, who grew up rooting for the Eagles because of Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb, led Notre Dame on a run to the Fiesta Bowl in 2015 and then a 4-8 season last year. Browns fans aren’t sure what they have in him.
Kizer was the fourth quarterback taken in this year’s draft, so the Browns don’t have the same first-round investment they had with Couch, Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden or Manziel. Yet if the season goes south or the competition is close in the preseason, those fans will want to see what Kizer can do.
“This is a brand-new process and a situation I’ve never been a part of so I’m completely open with big ears to taking as much coaching as I possibly can,” Kizer said. “I completely understand the things I did in college aren’t going to jump over to the NFL exactly like they were.”
Whether Kizer’s transition is the actual plan, or the Browns are setting up for a bold move at the 2018 NFL Draft, remains to be seen. The pieces fit in some places, but you can’t figure out how the puzzle will look until there’s a quarterback with staying power. None of the other moves will pay off until that happens.
That’s the learning curve for the second draft class under Jackson, Brown and DePodesta. That 2016 class offered contributors such as Kessler and Emmanuel Ogbah, who led the Browns with six sacks last season. First-round pick Corey Coleman dealt with injuries while he compiled 33 catches for 413 yards and three touchdowns.
The second class is everything Jackson described: Bigger. Faster. More athletic. This is the next stage in a plan that, pass or fail, has the rest of the league’s attention.
“It is an exciting time,” Jackson said. “It is a good class. It is a talented class. We have a lot of work to do, but I thought it was a good first day.”
How will players like Ogunjobi make their marks? How will Garrett react to those first encounters with Thomas? Will Peppers fit in at safety? Is Njoku the guy who can stretch the middle of the field? Where does Kizer fit in?
That’s a hell of a puzzle for a rookie class. That will determine whether Cleveland’s high post-draft grades hold in the future.
“First, we’ve got to find our place,” Garrett said. “We’ve got to find out how we fit and make this team better. I think we can all do that. We can all contribute one way or the other.”
Jackson reiterated the themes Ogunjobi, Garrett and Kizer touched on earlier in the day: The goal is to get the rookies ready for training camp in the summer, when all the excitement and expectations ramp up.
“They have to show up and have their talent and ability show on this practice field and in the meeting rooms in order for those guys to accept them,” Jackson said. “I think that will happen.”
Jackson’s message isn’t all that different than the one he preached in Year 1, but the progress Cleveland shows in Year 2 will have so many trickle-down effects. Jackson will get more time to watch these large draft classes develop. The Browns will have more time to answer the quarterback question and other long-term questions for a franchise that hasn’t shown patience with quarterbacks or coaches in the past.
This team needs to understand its position and maximize its growth from top to bottom.
“I think they get it,” Jackson said. “What I am trying to do right now is to get them to understand the coaching that is here and what they are going to come into and truly have them understand that they are just a piece of the puzzle.”
As Jackson closed his remarks, he, too, was interrupted, this time by a dog in a neighboring back yard. Jackson didn’t flinch, either. He knew it was just Day 1.
When the train comes back in August, the dogs will be barking, and that’s when the true referendum begins.
“I don’t care who it is, whether it is to Myles Garrett or the last guy we drafted,” Jackson said. “They have to be able to do that because that is the only way the locker room is going to accept them now.”
In other words, they have to get the pieces to fit. When they do, we’ll know if the Browns will finally have their turn.
