On Sunday, the Oakland Raiders added DeShone Kizer to their room of quarterbacks also featuring Derek Carr, Mike Glennon, and Nathan Peterman. Why? Peterman was later placed on the injured reserve list.
Jon Gruden loves his quarterbacks, and Kizer has upside, according to Gruden.
“I am a big believer in taking care of that position (quarterback). Kizer has had a lot of reps, a lot of experience and big upside,” Gruden said on Monday.
The addition of Kizer might have been influenced by the man who made a move to get him, general manager Mike Mayock. In 2017, as a draft analyst at NFL Network, Mayock once had Kizer over Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Mitchell Trubisky, grading him as the No. 1 quarterback in the class.
However, Mayock eventually dropped Kizer to No. 4—a smart move in hindsight—but still thought highly of him, as he said in 2017, per USA Today:
“From my perspective, Kizer still has the biggest ceiling of any quarterback in this draft. “He’s the prototypical NFL franchise quarterback, but he’s not ready to play. I think he’s a year or two away from stepping on an NFL field.”
Mayock was right that Kizer was a year or two away from stepping onto an NFL field, but that didn't happen. The Cleveland Browns rushed him into starting, only to see him throw a league-leading 22 interceptions and finish 0-15. They later traded Kizer to the Green Bay Packers, where he backed up Aaron Rodgers for one season.
Now that it's been two years in the NFL, could Mayock be onto something?
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