Whacky teams do whacky things, am I right?
Perhaps no team in recent memory has been whackier than the Cleveland Browns (and I'm saying that as a Washington Redskins fan). As fate would have it, things could be taken up another level this year.
Using back-to-back first round picks on quarterbacks is becoming a possibility for the Browns. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com believes that Marcus Mariota could become the hot commodity Cleveland sets its sights on when the NFL draft rolls around.
"I do think the Browns will explore the possibility of landing the former Heisman Trophy winner," Cabot wrote. "I've been told that Browns GM Ray Farmer was high on Mariota last year, and the Browns continued to scout him this year during his Heisman campaign. It depends on how the top teams in the draft view Mariota and whether or not Tampa Bay intends to take him No. 1 overall. Plenty of experts now have Florida State's Jameis Winston ranked ahead of Mariota, which means Mariota might be easier to land.
"The Browns have the No. 12 and No. 19 picks in the first round, and it will most likely take those two picks, and possibly next year's No. 1 to land one of the top two prospects. Considering their situation with Johnny Manziel, I don't think they can afford to take a chance on another character risk like Winston."
This would not only mark one of the most entertaining storylines of the NFL offseason if it came to pass, but it would likely also mean the end of Manziel in Cleveland after just one season. Of course, nothing is even close to definite. The draft is still a few months away and it is unknown how the Browns feel about Manziel at this point. This is just Cabot's opinion. But with Johnny Football in rehab and coming off a highly disappointing rookie season, it wouldn't be out of the question for Cleveland to continue to consider all of the options available to them at the quarterback position.
Only time will tell how whacky this offseason truly gets for Browns fans.
