The Cleveland Browns might be projected to take a quarterback in multiple rounds in this year's NFL Draft, but that is not stopping Brian Hoyer from viewing himself as the returning starter. The quarterback spent a brief period of time last season under center for the Browns, but an ACL tear ended that quickly. Now the only quarterback left on the roster for Cleveland, he believes he is the man in charge.
The Browns opened up offseason workouts and Hoyer was essentially all there was for quarterback drills. Still recovering from the ACL surgery, Hoyer participated in individual drills, proving that he is on his way to being able to start the season for Cleveland. Currently working out alongside Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen, Hoyer is well aware the Browns are ready to draft the next franchise star, but that is not stopping him from viewing himself as the 2014 starter.
"Until someone tells me otherwise," Hoyer said, via ESPN.com, "I feel like I'm the starter for this team."
Head coach Mike Pettine confirmed that Hoyer is ahead of schedule and stands a very good chance at being under center Week 1 noting that in order to start for the team, any quarterback has to have offseason work.
"I know we don't play a game until August, but I also know that in order to be the guy in August you put the time in in the offseason," Pettine said.
The Browns are feeling so confident about Hoyer they are looking less and less likely to draft a quarterback early. Armed with two first-round draft picks and multiple picks on later rounds, the Browns are in no rush to make a move for someone like Johnny Manziel. Pettine noted that with his past experience, first-round quarterbacks are not exactly always successful if they start week one and with a deep draft this season, he likes the idea of grabbing a late-round option to develop.
"That's been a big part of the discussion in the draft room. That's a position that we know we're going to need to address, and you talk about where you're going to do it and the impact that it's going to have on the rest of the team," Pettine said, via theCleveland Plain Dealer. "Certainly it's an ideal situation if you can get that quarterback later in the draft and that way you're drafting a position player at four. But we're in the business of staying true to our sequence, that if our fourth-best player or somebody rated above that is there at the fourth pick that we'll feel comfortable turning the card in regardless of what the position is."
The Browns could literally go any way in this draft. With the most picks of any team they are poised to make trades and moves. They could easily draft Manziel, hold off for Aaron Murray or deal for someone like Mike Glennon. Is the draft here yet?
