Johnny Football focused on winning in new situation with Cleveland Browns.
Before the 2014 NFL Draft began Thursday night, some had quarterback Johnny Manziel going as the number one overall pick, while we had him going to the Cleveland Browns. That however wasn’t the case, as the 2012 NCAA Heisman Trophy winner slipped all the way to number 22, when the Browns got a chance to draft him. Cleveland would make trades during the draft process acquiring corner-back Justin Gilbert before finally landing their franchise player.
They took a huge risk making a mid-round trade, which added motivation and bigger chip on the shoulder for Manziel during the night for the season. ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio sat down with Johnny for his first interview following the draft to discuss the experience of his slip to 22, competing against Bryan Hoyer and potentially bringing Cleveland their first major sporting title in 50 years. Hit the jump to watch the conversation also touching on his “it factor.”
OS REWIND: The 2014 NFL Draft 1st Round Picks
The Browns have had a busy off-season hiring new head coach Mike Pettine, along with big key acquisitions of Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby. In the midst of their big draft day however, the team currently has a dark cloud hovering over them with the pending season-long suspension for receiver Josh Gordon, after failing another drug test.
He was set to be the primary target for either Manziel or Gordon, but they will have to look to other players to fill his void for the first 6 weeks of the season presumably. In related news, following the draft, the Cleveland Browns franchise has already sold over 1,000 season tickets, with numbers continuing to increase every day heading into September. They now add another young star alongside Kyrie Irving to continue repairing their city following the LeBron James decision and South Beach departure in 2010.