Mike Pettine insists the Browns haven't completely slammed the door on drafting Johnny Manziel.
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On the heels of a Tuesday report from Jay Glazer suggesting that Cleveland would sooner "take me over Manziel" with the No. 4 pick, the team's head coach says the "spontaneous genius" out of Texas A&M is still in the picture.
"He'll be in the discussion at four," Pettine told USA Today's Lindsay Jones on Wednesday. "We met on it again this morning. I think it is very fluid."
General manager Ray Farmer has managed to keep Cleveland's master plan a mystery wrapped in a riddle, acknowledging that the team has majored in unpredictability in the lead up to Thursday night's draft.
"I recognize that everyone is going nuts, 'They've got to take a quarterback!' No one knows what we're going to do, and that's the best part about it," said Farmer.
NFL Media's Mike Mayock mocked a Texas A&M standout to the Browns at No. 4, but it wasn't Manziel. The draft guru has offensive tackle Jake Matthews slotted for C-Town, a move that would give the team a rock-solid line prospect, but fail to fill a void at quarterback that's plagued the Browns since Bernie Kosar was released by Bill Belichick more than 20 years ago.
Farmer knows the team needs a difference-maker at the position, but his public take on Manziel is less than glowing.
"I mean, people like him. People think there is talent there. The question is, is (No.) four too rich?" asked the general manager.
Nobody is better prepared to answer that question than Farmer, which he'll do tonight after emerging from a forest of smoke.
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