BEREA, Ohio -- Brian Hoyer worked with the first team Wednesday at the Cleveland Browns' offseason practice, with Johnny Manziel up third.

The Browns followed through on the plan to make Manziel earn his spot, and on some plays during the workout, the rookie showed why.

"I just think just like any other rookie that he's inconsistent," Browns coach Mike Pettine said after the second day of the entire team being on the practice field. "I think a lot of it is the mental part of it. [Manziel] is more worrying about getting the formation right, making sure the motion's correct. Then he's got the cadence, and then he's got to worry about where guys are.

"Being good mechanically takes a backseat to learning the system first."

Manziel struggled at times with throws, though he did hit Josh Gordon with a nice pass in five-on-five. He also was able to escape the pocket to complete a couple passes, though the pass rush was no where close to full speed.

"You've got to build a foundation first," Pettine said. "I think we want him to learn the offense first. We know that when we get into live situations that he's going to be able to make plays. We're not going to try to coach that out of him.

"These are just basic, basic installs. Just trying to learn formations, trying to learn basic plays. I think there will be a time down the road for the stuff that makes him special, the improv stuff."

After the practice, Browns general manager Ray Farmer appeared on 93.2 The Fan in Cleveland and said that Hoyer currently is the better quarterback "by a substantial margin."