Browns Now in Scary Position, Chips All-In on Johnny Manziel After Draft

The Cleveland Browns may or may not have been in the chase for quarterback Marcus Mariota on Thursday night. The answer to that depends on exactly which ESPN source you’d like to believe.

For his part, Browns general manager Ray Farmer said “no, no, no” when asked if he attempted a Mariota leap, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

The trigger wasn’t pulled despite plenty of ammunition in the form of two first-round picks. Hesitancy to take another cannonball into the first-round-quarterback abyss was understandable. Remember, we’re discussing a franchise that’s selected two quarterbacks in the first round over the past three years.

But then 10 more Browns picks passed, and none were used on a quarterback. So what's more terrifying: taking another quarterback plunge of some kind, or being all-in on Johnny Manziel?

Can it be a tie?

Balking on giving up prime draft real estate to acquire Mariota through the Tennessee Titans’ No. 2 overall pick was wise in hindsight.

The Titans were asking for basically entire rosters, and reportedly the Philadelphia Eagles pushed an offer of two first-round picks, a third-round pick and multiple players their way.

Paying that price—or anything remotely close to it—is potentially crippling for a rebuilding team.

Now look beyond the first round. Of the Browns’ 12 total picks, five were in the top 100, and they had an opportunity to draft any quarterback not named Mariota or Jameis Winston. Sure, the drop-off in talent beyond those two was steep, but insurance and competition for Manziel were seemingly boxes that needed to be checked off.

Instead, the Browns seemed content with the status quo, a dangerous feeling that threatens to bring more failure. They’ve committed to a quarterback depth chart that includes two underwhelming realities in equal measure: mediocrity and immaturity.

The latter problem has hopefully been corrected. But for how long?

The Browns signed Josh McCown earlier this offseason. He was a football-spraying debacle in 2014 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, completing only 56.3 percent of his passes at 6.7 yards per attempt. He’s a 35-year-old backup whose 67.7 accuracy percentage ranked 25th out of the 27 quarterbacks who took at least 50 percent of their team's dropbacks in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus.

McCown is a mere placeholder, a veteran presence who doubles as an interception-chucking mess. Browns head coach Mike Pettine prefers to call him a proven starter.

“I’d be comfortable (starting McCown),” he told Cabot in March. “He’s proven he can start in this league.”

Manziel, meanwhile, is still the future. How you feel about that depends on how much you believe a man can change over the period of several months. The apparently new Manziel has ditched inflatable swans in favor of a playbook.

That’s the good word from Browns respected veteran and eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas. In an interview with NFL Network’s Andrea Kremer, he said Manziel's conduct is “night and day” now compared to the 22-year-old's rookie season, when he lost the respect of his teammates.

“As one of the leaders, it’ll be my job to talk to him sometimes,” Thomas told Kremer. “But he’s already impressed a lot of people here now in the past couple of weeks.”

A process of personal growth for Manziel began when he entered a drug and alcohol treatment facility in January. He spent just over two months getting treatment, and anything that happened in that facility is clearly much more important on a human level than football. His mistakes, however, went beyond Saturday nights.

Manziel’s lack of preparation showed he either didn’t understand the importance of his job title, or he didn't care. There he was, the starting quarterback of an NFL team, and during his first game, he didn’t know the plays. That’s according to an ESPN.com report from Jeremy Fowler and Pat McManamon in January. They also reported some veterans simply didn’t want to play for Manziel due to that lack of readiness.

The hope is that Manziel—the Manziel who cared little, and it showed—is now fading along with the swan-surfing Manziel. Ideally, a personal transformation off the field will stick—and then be reflected on the field, too.

That’s what has to happen for Manziel’s sake, and for the job security of Pettine, Farmer and others. Manziel’s raw athletic ability has never been questioned. But his dedication to take those gifts and transition into being a well-rounded NFL quarterback is only starting to show.

So far, relying on consistent maturity from Manziel has been dangerous. And now after not using a single draft pick on a quarterback or trading to bring in a more promising veteran, the Browns are operating without a safety net.