Browns dominate first round, trade up to get Johnny Manziel at 22

Credit the Cleveland Browns for working the NFL Draft masterfully.

The Browns had the No. 4 overall pick and there were rumors that they might select Johnny Manziel, though more recently reports said they would not take him that high. That obviously didn’t mean they were not interested in him, because they made three trades on the first day of the draft and came away big winners.

First the Browns traded the No. 4 pick to Buffalo in exchange for the 9th overall pick, a first-round pick in 2015 and a 4th-round pick in 2015. Then they moved up a spot to the No. 8 slot to select cornerback Justin Gilbert.

But the Browns weren’t done dealing. They traded the 26th and 83rd overall picks to the Philadelphia Eagles to move up to number 22 to draft Manziel, who had been falling in the draft.

“To be here it feels right,” Manziel said to ESPN after being selected.

I believe Manziel is the exact kind of guy who can turn around the franchise in Cleveland. As we outlined earlier, they’ve gone through multiple terrible quarterbacks over the past two decades. They need a franchise guy. They finally have one.

Brady Quinn didn’t work out for Cleveland at No. 22. Neither did Brandon Weeden. Manziel will.