Browns manuever to grab Justin Gilbert to pair opposite Joe Haden
May 8, 2014Pic: Nike’s first post-draft Johnny Manziel ad
May 9, 2014
Johnny Cleveland, come on down! Jay Glazer said it wouldn’t happen at No. 4. Browns local beat types didn’t give it a chance. But after all of the noise was cleared out, and all the photoshopped jerseys were tweeted and posted to Facebook walls, the Cleveland Browns used their 22nd-overall selection to draft the much-discussed Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.1
Blessed with incredible manueverability and an immense competitive nature, Manziel becomes the first quarterback under six-feet tall to be selected in the first round of an NFL Draft. Manziel is known as a dual-threat quarterback who can hurt opposing defenses with his feet just as much as his arm. Thought to be a scrambling, run-first quarterback, the Aggies product made significant improvements as a passer in 2013, throwing for 3,419 yards and 24 touchdowns. Regardless of talent, Manziel is easily the biggest name to be selected in this year’s draft and will immediately bring intrigue and relevance to a city of Cleveland while filling a need that has escaped the Browns for most of the last decade.
CBS Sports’ Rob Rang compares Manziel to former Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia, but the version who made it to four Pro Bowls during his career as an NFL quarterback.
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(Photo: Thomas Campbell/USA TODAY Sports)
- The Browns traded the 26th pick along with the 83rd pick in the third round. [↩]
140 Comments
wrong.
is this a serious comment?
yes. lets ignore QB. Not like we need one.
JFF dates hot girls and has famous friends. He didnt ask for any of it, he was just a college kid who went with it. I would too, and so would everybody else. CLE needs to get over whatever “blue collar” stigma it has, and embrace a star. Last guy to do that turned out to be the best player in the NBA. We let his “hollywood” transgressions go b/c he was from Akron. This is no different. JFF is not as talented as LBJ, but he is damn well worth the pick and should be embraced.
3rd times the charm
Or it’s the lack of size, the lack of pocket discipline, and the over-reliance on chuck-and-duck tosses to an elite college WR who could frequently bail him out that has folks concerned. Yes, he comes off as a smedium-polo-shirt-wearing frat bro, but if he were the size of Bortles or a genuine passer like Bridgewater I could easily accept that. He’s the biggest risk of that trio from a football perspective, and I’ll wait to see him actually perform against elite pro talent before getting too excited about him in orange and brown.
CURSES ARE REAL IN CLEVELAND AND THE NORTHSIDE OF CHICAGO
Isn’t it always?
Precisely.You never know what the picks will actually do, but there’s no denying that Farmer was ready and up to the task.
I know owners play as close to the vest as possible during the draft but something tells me that Haslam and Jerry Jones had a conversation saying that Manziel wasn’t going to Dallas.
Our division opponents all got better in big ways in round one, though that was bound to happen in such a deep draft (unless you are the Jags, for whom shooting fish in a barrel apparently isn’t sporting. Blake Bortles top-3? Yikes). Just hope our gambling ways yield the bigger returns.
Biggest risk with, perhaps, biggest reward.
Probably the best part, assuming this gamble works. I’m not convinced it will, but it would be nice to benefit from something they did for once.
Gonna be a lot of that in the next few years, methinks. Hopefully for the right reasons.
I got the feeling he made that gesture because he felt he had to. That’s what I ascertained from his interview with Deion. The question is if he can control that impulse to give the audience what it wants when he is better off giving the team what it wants. I’m hopeful. I liked the way he spoke in the interview – not to prepped/clichéd, and pretty honest.
Exciting sideshow for now. Exciting football remains to be seen.
Bitonio would cap my best-draft-ever
http://i.imgur.com/u5OYeGe.gif
Only three nights a week. McDonald’s has him the rest of the time. But he might be able to talk to his manager…
I’d still take Mariota in a second if the opportunity presents.
I saw someone say that on twitter last night. The conspiracy has begun.
definitely easier to swallow at 22
Gruden is insufferable… ugh
* We used the 3rd rd pick from Pitts to get our new QB…a sign?
I’m now going to be forced to tease out my ESPN Johnny feelings from Johnny. Not his fault that rugged mug was shown non-stop, and I actually liked the barely suppressed joie de vivre that keeps leaking out in less scripted moments.
I’m not sure I wanted Teddy to be our QB, but I really want the guy to succeed. The little I’ve seen of him off the field, he just seems like a good kid. Kind of the anti-Johnny in that sense.
“first time i’ve ever felt so negative about a browns’ drafted qb on draft night.”
If that’s true, then maybe you need to ask yourself how much you should be trusting your instincts.
This is exactly what I though and even said it to my draft watching mate.
The kid needs to prove he can play, but boy does he have that potential!
Great Draft……We get the best CB and potentially top flight QB PLUS a 1st rd pick next year….Come on guys…..if anyone knew we would have all this before the draft they might have made Farmer mayor of Cleveland…….Say what you want about Manziel at least he is exciting and confidant……its gonna be one heck of a fun next few years……And if we can get Lee at 35……Wow…
It just hit me how appropriate the photo leading this article is: JFF, being chased by love, doing everything he can to avoid it, but it’s got a hold on him anyway.
yeah, check out his demeanor and answers in the presser just after first round ended.
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/media-center/videos/Farmer-And-Pettine-Discuss-First-Round/f9f9a7a2-bf73-4dde-bfcc-9bff6b9196b9
This is a cold, calculating exec without fear of the moment (and looks like he’ll keep his war room game face on until Sunday). But as you say, if his player eval sucks, absolutely none of that matters.
Bortles is bigger size but weaker arm. It’s weird.
Anyway, JFF is a significant risk with significant upside. It’ll be an interesting ride.
and within 10miles of Andrew Bynum
Glazer and Schefter both reported overnight that the Vikings had a trade in place with Philly & that they were taking Manziel. The Browns trumped the offer.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
We can get him during the days. I hear he’s the night-time grill & fryer cleaner.
That must have been an intense competition between him and Mike Phipps for that spot–them’s the prime grill and fryer cleaning hours
Yeah the arm strength thing with Bortles doesn’t make sense–Manziel has him there. I just wish Mr. Pigskin had a frame more like Blake’s and less like mine. Careful only gets you so far, I suppose. At least it won’t be boring.
no need being so defensive. my opinion is that it was a horrible pick. if you like the move, great. i’m not about to give you crap bc of it. getting gilbert and the extra 1st rounder was good but i hate the rest. and i didnt say losing the 5th was important, they just gave it away. it’s nice to see the eternal optimism the day after each draft, but that usually fades once we’re a few games in after they serve up the slop, hot and fresh
and that bum thing is not according to me, thats no joke.