Johnny Manziel seems pretty contrite after his recent rehab stint.
That's all well and good, but will it have any effect on the decision-making of the Cleveland Browns front office when it comes to the 2015 NFL Draft?
Not likely.
The Browns, despite the offseason addition of steady veteran Josh McCown and the recent return of Manziel, are rumored to be highly interested in acquiring former Oregon quarterback and Heisman Trophy-winner Marcus Mariota in the NFL rookie meat market later this month.
Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer believes the Browns brass, led by team owner Jimmy Haslam and GM Ray Farmer will make "a concerted effort to land Mariota regardless of which team they have to call."
The Browns, per Cabot, were actually hopeful that Mariota would come out last year when they had the No. 4-overall pick and were much better positioned to add him.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported recently that the Browns were among a handful of NFL franchises in negotiations with the Tennessee Titans for the second-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and, presumably, the opportunity to select Mariota.
The Browns, currently in possession of the No. 12 and No. 19-overall picks in late April's first-round, have plenty of ammo with which to complete a trade if they so choose.
Still, if Cleveland is truly interested in acquiring Mariota, they've done little to show that fact to the outside world beyond the consistent rumors.
"They haven't lined up a private workout with the Heisman Trophy winner and will not bring him to Cleveland as one of their 30 allotted pre-draft visits, a league source told Northeast Ohio Media Group," writes Cabot.
Then again, with new Browns quarterbacks coach Kevin O'Connell already intimately familiar with the former Oregon product - he worked directly with Mariota in his pre-draft preparation and actually ran Mariota's pro day last month - so Cleveland probably already has all the intel on Mariota they'd ever need.
