AP

Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel impressed his coaches with his effort during the opening weeks of offseason work.

“Johnny’s been great,” Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo told Cleveland.com. “He’s been fantastic. What he wants to talk about, before he stepped foot back in this building is his business. All I know is Johnny the football player, and he’s been awesome. He’s been working hard, very hard with myself and [quarterbacks coach Kevin O’Connell], and doing what we want him to do on the field.”

There was talk during Manziel’s rookie year that he wasn’t taking his job seriously enough. But DeFilippo, who was hired this offseason, says he hasn’t witnessed any of that.

“All I know is this: From the moment he stepped in this building from the last two weeks, he’s been nothing but a consummate professional,” DeFilippo said. “He’s spent every hour that he’s been allowed to spend in this building. We give them worksheets every Tuesday and every Friday, and they’re done to the unbelievable detail that we need an NFL quarterback to do. From that standpoint, like I said I can’t predict the future, but all I can do is tell you right now Johnny Manziel is putting himself in a position to be a quarterback in the NFL.”

Does Manziel fit DeFilippo’s offense?

“If Johnny Manziel’s our quarterback, we’ll have an offense to fit his skillset,” he said.

That’s still a big “If,” as at the moment Manziel is viewed as a likely backup to Josh McCown. But Manziel is at least giving himself a chance to show that he’s put the problems of his rookie season behind him.