Marcus Mariota has been working with a private quarterback tutor who will be joining the Cleveland Browns staff in the near future. Does that mean the Browns are interested?
Not really, but it could. According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mariota has been training with Kevin O’Connell at San Diego’s Prolific Athletes. O’Connell was an NFL journeyman who was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
O’Connell, who also worked with Johnny Manziel before last year’s draft, is set to be hired by the Browns as a quarterbacks coach. As Pro Football Talk noted, the latest NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement limits the amount of work current NFL coaches can do with draft prospects. That could be why the Browns are waiting to announce the move.
A lot of teams are interested in Mariota, and there is a growing sense that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will draft the former Oregon star with the No. 1 overall pick. That said, the Browns said during the season that they would not hesitate to draft a quarterback in the first round if they thought it would improve their team.
The Browns currently hold the 12th and 19th picks in the upcoming draft. That puts them in a prime position to trade up if they so choose. They reportedly had questions about Johnny Manziel before he went to rehab, so they could be even less certain about the former Texas A&M star now.
Cleveland would have to give up a ton of assets to put itself in position to draft a player who is considered by many to be the best quarterback in the draft. That doesn’t mean the Browns have ruled it out.
