2017 NFL Draft: DeShone Kizer a Second Round Pick?

There’s less than a month until the 2017 NFL Draft and up until now, former Notre Dame quarterback, DeShone Kizer, was expected to be a top 10 draft pick.

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In NFL Spinzone’s latest 2017 NFL Mock Draft, DeShone Kizer does not appear in the first round. With the first quarterback taken being Deshawn Watson at No. 6 to the New York Jets and Mitch Trubisky headed to the Cleveland Browns at No. 12, Kizer appears to fall out of the opening round.

With the free agent signing of Matt Barkley in San Francisco and Mike Glennon to the Chicago Bears, people are becoming skeptical as to whether or not these two teams will use the second and third pick to take a quarterback. If they decide not to, the next viable option to take a play caller would be the Jets. The problem is that no one knows if New York actually wants to draft a QB with their first pick.

For three quarterbacks who seemed destined to be taken within the first 12 picks, there is now uncertainty as to whether or not they’re actually going to end up in the opening round. After Kizer’s unimpressive NFL Combine, he could be the unlucky candidate to be passed up by the two teams thinking quarterback in the first round.

Kizer wouldn’t be upset about being a backup, which he’d likely be if he falls out of the first round. “Sitting and learning isn’t a bad thing,” Kizer told NFL.com “There’s kind of this negative annotation around it that a guy who’s a project, a guy who needs to be behind someone is a guy who just simply isn’t ready for the NFL. And I’d say all the greats, Brady, Rogers; those guys were behind some great guys in front of them who really understand the game and how the NFL works. So, if that’s the opportunity for me then I’m looking forward to doing so.”

Chances are Kizer isn’t dropping that far. He has the biggest arm in the draft and may be the most intelligent quarterback in the class. Even if he didn’t have the best combine numbers, he’s still known as one of the best skill sets at the position. With the amount of teams looking for a future quarterback, someone is going to call his name in the first round.

Maybe it isn’t in the first 12 picks, but teams like the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and possibly even the Denver Broncos are all looking to get their hands on a potential future franchise passer. If Kizer sneaks past the Browns at the No. 12 pick, these teams will be licking the chops waiting for him to drop to them.

Next: Notre Dame Recruiting Wishlist 2.0

You have to respect the mock draft, though. There is a lot of concern regarding these three quarterbacks. Maybe teams aren’t as confident in them as we believe. If so, let’s just hope Kizer isn’t the one taking the blow. Even way, though, his NFL career is going to be just as successful.