2014 NFL Draft: Browns willing to trade up for Johnny Manziel

Trading out the second overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft is starting to look like fait accompli for the St. Louis Rams ... and we're still more than three months away from it. On Sunday, rumors out of the dysfunctional world of the Cleveland Browns say that the team has its heart set on Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel ... so much so that they're willing to deal up from the fourth pick to snag him.

From Jason LaCanfora at CBS Sports:

[The Browns] are willing to trade up to land Johnny Manziel in the draft if need be, sources said, and have an owner, Jimmy Haslam, who is committed to spending their abundant cap space to try to win quickly.

An owner wrapped up in a Federal fraud investigation willing to open the checkbook ... sounds like a recipe for success if there ever was one! But that's okay. That desperation could play right into the Rams' hands for some wheeling and dealing.

Depending on what the Texans do with the top spot (and they could also trade down), the Browns could make a call to Snead about the second pick. And if the Texans draft Manziel or trade out of that spot, the Rams would still be sitting on some valuable real estate for quarterback needy teams ... or even a team looking to take Jadeveon Clowney, if he's still there.

Personally, I'm of the mind that the Rams ought to be thinking long and hard about drafting Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater with that pick. They could trade Sam Bradford, clear his salary from the books and start over with a more dynamic signal caller that fits today's game. The front office sounds like they disagree, so let's hold off on the regular comment section freakout over one person's opinion about quarterbacks.

This happens to be a good year for mid-round signal callers. The Rams could easily find their quarterback of the future on Friday night instead of Thursday, while reaping the rewards of a trade down from the top spot.

It's starting to look like a win-win no matter what happens.