Report: Johnny Manziel to go no later than fourth to Cleveland

Dec 31, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) celebrates defeating the Duke Blue Devils during the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome. Texas A&M won 52-48. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland Raiders fans have already had their Johnny Manziel dreams dashed as Vic Tafur reported that the Raiders will not consider a quarterback with their fifth pick in the first round of Thursday’s 2014 NFL Draft, but ESPN’s Chris Mortensen has now discovered that the divisive and infamous Texas A&M star will still go in the Top 5 even if teams like the Raiders and the top picking Houston Texans don’t seem to interested.

Mortensen reported that the Cleveland Browns plan on making sure they land Johnny Football should he be available at the four spot come Thursday’s draft:

It should maybe come as no surprise that the Browns want to target Manziel as the team has made some quality moves in free agency and has two first round draft picks, making them much more likely to take a shot on their highest rated quarterback earlier than the rest of the teams ahead of the Raiders in the draft. Still, the Browns may want to wait until later on as the possibility a top quarterback could fall to them later in the first round is still there. A risk that according to Mortensen the Browns will not take as they now are reportedly going to ensure that they get who they feel will be this draft class’ franchise QB.

Manziel potentially going fourth doesn’t change the Raiders plans at the draft much, but it could lead to a quality talent high on the Oakland draft board now falling to them at #5 with one team already committed to a quarterback. Should the Browns select Manziel at #4 the odds of the Raiders miraculously landing one of the desired trio of Clowney, Mack, and Watkins gets that much higher as the Browns will be passing on one of those three if available along with other Top 5 hopefuls such as Greg Robinson and Mike Evans.