The Cleveland Browns were a busy team Thursday night in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft and that included them selecting Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 22nd overall selection.
Heading into draft, it was reported that the Browns would not be drafting Manziel with their fourth overall selection and that wound up being the case. They traded away that pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for their first and fourth round picks this year in addition to a 2015 first round pick.
After moving down five spots, the Browns moved back up one spot by swapping picks with the Minnesota Vikings in addition to giving them their fifth round pick this year, No. 145 overall. That move up resulted in them drafting Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert with the eighth overall selection.
The Browns were still not done maneuvering, however, as they then traded up from the 26th overall spot to the 22nd overall spot with the Philadelphia Eagles to draft Manziel.
Manziel will likely start the season as the backup to starter Brian Hoyer and that means the Pittsburgh Steelers best chance of facing him would be in Week 6 being as the two teams open the season against one another. It all depends on how Hoyer is playing come October and if the Browns are winning.
The Browns haven’t had the best of luck when it comes to drafting quarterbacks over the years and they now must hope that “Johnny Football” isn’t just another “Johnny Come Lately.”
