It looks like my original guess that Cleveland was high on Manziel in September is starting to pan out. All of the smoke from the Trent Richardson trade, the fact that they had representatives at the Alabama game, and the idea that they are willing to go for lighting in a bottle was too much to ignore.
According to a report from NFL.com and Peter King, the brass in Cleveland has acknowledged that they like the prospect of drafting Johnny. From Peter King's column:
If they kept Chudzinski, they'd be asking him to develop the next quarterback, along with offensive coordinator Norv Turner. What if there was a disconnect between the quarterback the front office wanted (I hear Cleveland really likes Johnny Manziel, who is not the Aikmanish pocket passer more to Turner's liking) and the one the coaches preferred? If they made a clean break now, they wouldn't be delaying what they felt was inevitable.
With their Coach Rob Chudzinski out after just one year, and with the #4 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, it's starting to look more and more like Johnny Manziel could wind up playing in "The Factory of Sadness." It sounds like the Browns will be sending representatives to the Chick-fil-A Bowl as well:
NFL teams credentialed for Chick-fil-A Bowl to see Manziel, Jake Matthews & Mike Evans & co: #Browns; #Steelers; #Titans & #Rams.
— Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) December 29, 2013
Well, at least Johnny may be walking in the footsteps of one of his good friends.
Happy Birthday to the man @KingJames
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) December 30, 2013