The Cleveland Browns have another top pick in the draft this season and rumors have the team looking at all the top players, as Jadeveon Clowney, Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles all could be in the mix for the team when they select number 4 overall in May after going just 4-12 last season.
The Browns have needs all over the place and two glaring areas are at the quarterback position and on defense. The team played well in sporadic moments last season, but they lost their last seven games of the year and that led to the firing of Rob Chudzinski and now the team has dealt with bad headline after negative headline, as they fired Mike Lombardi and Joe Banner, tried and failed to trade for Jim Harbaugh, cut longtime linebacker D'Quell Jackson and they hired Mike Pettine, who was not their first choice and that was no secret.
Despite all that, the team can get some good will back when the draft comes in May, as they could get a foundational player in the draft and that includes the quarterbacks in Manziel, Bortles and Bridgewater. There isn't much consensus so far about what teams will do and who will go number one, but a main thing that everyone mostly agrees on is that Jadeveon Clowney, Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles are the top players to keep an eye on in the draft and it's very unlikely those four will make it out of the top 10 picks, if they even make it out of the top five.
The Browns have different reasons for liking all these players and depending on how Pettine wants to build the team that is how they will pick. Clowney is an interesting player, but he likely will be gone by the time the Browns pick, as the Texans, Jaguars and Rams, or a team that trades up likely will take him over those first three picks. Clowney lit up the combine with his 40-time, but his bench press and stats from the season have disappointed scouts and many wonder if his work ethic will be there in the NFL.
Some rumors have the Atlanta Falcons trading up for Clowney, while many other teams could be angling to do the same and with the Rams at the second pick, that very well could happen. Bridgewater is considered the most "pro ready" quarterback of the top three and that could be why the Browns pick him, as he had nearly 10,000 passing yards in college with 72 touchdowns and just 24 picks over that time and with players like Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron on offense, he could be a perfect option. Bridgewater doesn't have the flash of Manziel or the size of Bortles, but he could be a great option for the team at number four and there is a good chance he will be there when the pick.
