The Cleveland Browns escaped the Ray Farmer text scandal with all of their draft picks intact and that could lead to a trade up for Marcus Mariota, but if that doesn't happen, the team may target players like Kevin White and DeVante Parker, as they still have a need at wide receiver despite signing Brian Hartline and Dwayne Bowe with Josh Gordon facing a suspension.
The Browns are coming into the NFL draft with the ammo to make trades, as they have the most picks overall of any team and they also have two first round selections. According to ESPN.com, the Browns have been hit with a big fine and general manager Ray Farmer has been suspended for four games stemming from an investigation into sending texts to personnel during games in the 2014 season. The league announced the news after an investigation and the Browns made it out with all of their draft picks intact. The Falcons were investigated for a noise issue and lost a draft pick for 2016.
The Browns now move into the draft with their focus on 2015 and while they added Josh McCown in the offseason, there is a chance they could look at taking another quarterback. Farmer said at the NFL combine that the team would not shy away from looking at quarterbacks and if they don't move up for Mariota, the team could take a QB in the later rounds. The class is deep this season and some names to watch include Bryce Petty, Shane Carden, Taylor Kelly and Brett Hundley.
The team has Johnny Manziel coming back from a disappointing rookie season and he also spent part of the offseason in rehab. Josh McCown was signed as a free agent over bringing back Brian Hoyer and he likely will be the starter if the team doesn't make any major moves. Jeremy Fowler at ESPN.com has written about the Browns QB situation extensively and he reported earlier in the offseason that the team had interest in Sam Bradford, Mike Glennon and Nick Foles.
Fowler writes that those options are likely off the table and that McCown is going to be the starter heading into camp. Fowler adds that a trade up for Mariota is a potential option, but at this point is looking less likely. The Browns reportedly offered a first round pick for Sam Bradford and the team also checked in on Mike Glennon. McCown was with the Buccaneers last season and he signed a three year deal with nearly $7 million guaranteed.
The Browns have the number 19 pick and the number 12 pick in the first round and they could look at packaging one of those to move up. Connor Shaw is set to come back as the third string quarterback and that means if the team does make a trade, they will have to make a move at the position, either stashing him on the practice squad or letting him go. According to ESPN.com, the team has not scheduled one of the early pre-draft meetings with Mariota and while that could be a sign of their interest, it also could mean nothing.
Mariota is predicted to go anywhere from number two to number 10 in the first round and depending on how things play out, the Browns could get involved.
