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Will the Cleveland Browns Give Up Three First Round Picks to Land Johnny Manziel?
By Zac Wassink January 14, 2014 3:05 PM
COMMENTARY | Three first round picks. That could prove to be the asking price that must be met for the Cleveland Browns to draft what will hopefully be a franchise quarterback.
Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi and Peter King of Sports Illustrated both appeared on ESPN Cleveland during the Tuesday morning edition of The Really Big Show. What started out as a discussion about who may or may not be the next head coach of the Browns turned into a look ahead at the 2014 NFL Draft.
Two things remain true throughout January: The Browns have failed to land a top-tier starting quarterback since returning to the league in 1999, and two clubs in need of a QB hold first round draft picks higher than that of Cleveland's.
Sitting at the No. 1 spot of the upcoming draft are the Houston Texans, while the Jacksonville Jaguars possess the third selection. The St. Louis Rams, in between the Texans and the Jaguars in the draft order, have maybe the most power of any of the four clubs in question.
St. Louis has the option of selecting either defensive end Jadeveon Clowney or offensive tackle Jake Matthews, both believed by many to be can't-miss picks. The Rams could also sell the No. 2 selection to the highest bidder, maybe to a team who would want to leapfrog both Jacksonville and Cleveland in order to take a quarterback.
No other QB has, as of now, broken into the top group of to-be rookies filled by Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater. Grossi, King, and also Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports are all claiming that the Cleveland front office is high on Manziel. King first reported back in September that the Browns had become smitten with the Texas A&M star commonly known as Johnny Football.
The Browns' brass may find themselves confronted with a difficult question in early March before the official start of free agency: Just how much do they love Manziel? The ESPN Cleveland panel, as well as other knowledgeable individuals around the league, believe that the club would have to part with at least three first round picks in order to move up to either one or two (depending on what Houston is thinking) in the draft.
That asking price isn't quite as steep for Cleveland as it looks on paper. The Browns hold two first round picks in the upcoming draft - theirs and that which belonged to the Indianapolis Colts (26) - due to trading running back Trent Richardson to Indy back in September. Pulling out of the first round of next year's draft and also throwing in some second and third day selections in order to move up and get the quarterback Cleveland fans have been dreaming of for roughly 15 years should not be out of the question.
On the contrary, the team may have no other choice but to do just that.
The Browns has a solid young foundation on both sides of the football. Stockpiling on draft picks is not in the best interests of a team that hasn't won more than five games since 2007, and one that hasn't played in a single playoff game in over a decade. The time for Cleveland to go all-in on a rookie quarterback is now, but only if those in charge of the franchise are positive that a savior will be on the board in May.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/clevel...00471--nfl.html;_ylt=AwrBEiKARflSdh8ALabQtDMD
By Zac Wassink January 14, 2014 3:05 PM
COMMENTARY | Three first round picks. That could prove to be the asking price that must be met for the Cleveland Browns to draft what will hopefully be a franchise quarterback.
Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi and Peter King of Sports Illustrated both appeared on ESPN Cleveland during the Tuesday morning edition of The Really Big Show. What started out as a discussion about who may or may not be the next head coach of the Browns turned into a look ahead at the 2014 NFL Draft.
Two things remain true throughout January: The Browns have failed to land a top-tier starting quarterback since returning to the league in 1999, and two clubs in need of a QB hold first round draft picks higher than that of Cleveland's.
Sitting at the No. 1 spot of the upcoming draft are the Houston Texans, while the Jacksonville Jaguars possess the third selection. The St. Louis Rams, in between the Texans and the Jaguars in the draft order, have maybe the most power of any of the four clubs in question.
St. Louis has the option of selecting either defensive end Jadeveon Clowney or offensive tackle Jake Matthews, both believed by many to be can't-miss picks. The Rams could also sell the No. 2 selection to the highest bidder, maybe to a team who would want to leapfrog both Jacksonville and Cleveland in order to take a quarterback.
No other QB has, as of now, broken into the top group of to-be rookies filled by Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater. Grossi, King, and also Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports are all claiming that the Cleveland front office is high on Manziel. King first reported back in September that the Browns had become smitten with the Texas A&M star commonly known as Johnny Football.
The Browns' brass may find themselves confronted with a difficult question in early March before the official start of free agency: Just how much do they love Manziel? The ESPN Cleveland panel, as well as other knowledgeable individuals around the league, believe that the club would have to part with at least three first round picks in order to move up to either one or two (depending on what Houston is thinking) in the draft.
That asking price isn't quite as steep for Cleveland as it looks on paper. The Browns hold two first round picks in the upcoming draft - theirs and that which belonged to the Indianapolis Colts (26) - due to trading running back Trent Richardson to Indy back in September. Pulling out of the first round of next year's draft and also throwing in some second and third day selections in order to move up and get the quarterback Cleveland fans have been dreaming of for roughly 15 years should not be out of the question.
On the contrary, the team may have no other choice but to do just that.
The Browns has a solid young foundation on both sides of the football. Stockpiling on draft picks is not in the best interests of a team that hasn't won more than five games since 2007, and one that hasn't played in a single playoff game in over a decade. The time for Cleveland to go all-in on a rookie quarterback is now, but only if those in charge of the franchise are positive that a savior will be on the board in May.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/clevel...00471--nfl.html;_ylt=AwrBEiKARflSdh8ALabQtDMD
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