The Cleveland Browns are in the market for a quarterback and with a trade for Kirk Cousins with the Redskins or Ryan Mallett with the Patriots possibilities, the team is leaving no stone unturned heading into the draft, as they have held workouts with Blake Bortles and Derek Carr at quarterback and they could be picks over Jadeveon Clowney, Greg Robinson or Sammy Watkins at number four in 2014.
The Browns have had a rough few years in the league and they have not had a winning season in some time and now that Mike Pettine has been brought in as head coach and Ray Farmer is at GM, the team has the chance to start from scratch again. While that is frustrating to fans, it could finally be the remedy they have been waiting for, as the team is guaranteed to pick at least one QB in the draft, as they have extra picks after making the Trent Richardson trade last season and they ditched both Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell in the offseason.
The Browns have Brian Hoyer and he played well before getting injured last season, but he is not the long term answer and with a deep roster of talent at quarterback in this year's class, the draft could be a prime option for Cleveland. The team has the number four pick in the draft along with another first round pick and they have three in the top 35 and that means they could look to make a trade and still have a solid draft class since they have extra picks and they added another one last season by trading down in what was a much weaker class.
The team has looked at Blake Bortles and Derek Carr as targets and they brought in Carr for a private workout and did the same for Bortles and while it's unlikely the team takes Carr with the number four pick, Bortles could be a target there. Bortles has been called the QB with the highest upside in this draft and he falls in with Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater as the top three in the draft this season. Many scouts see him as having the best upside because of his size and raw talent and he has been compared to Ben Roethlisberger by many due to that. The Texans could be in the mix to take him as could the Jaguars and the Browns may have to jump up to the number two pick with the Rams if Houston picks Jadeveon Clowney.
Bortles had a great season in 2013 and he broke out after a great Fiesta Bowl and he passed for 3581 yards and 25 touchdowns last season and also can move in the pocket. If the team takes someone like Clowney or Watkins, they could take Carr later in the first round and he comes in after passing for 5,000 yards and 50 scores last season. The team could also look at a trade for Mallett or Cousins, as both likely could be had for a middle round pick and that could lead the team to taking one of the other skill position players or someone like Greg Robinson or Jake Matthews with their first round pick.
