Johnny Manziel

Johnny Manziel would create plenty of excitement in Cleveland, but the Browns cannot be lured into taking him or any quarterback at No. 4.

(AP)

BEREA, Ohio – From a strictly selfish standpoint, I want the Browns to select a quarterback with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. I want his name to be Johnny Manziel.

The Texas A&M product would be a boon for local media outlets. Love him or loathe him, Manziel is irresistible as a topic. It would carry all the hype of LeBron James’ rookie season in Cleveland, only this time playing for the city’s most storied franchise. Think of the web clicks, the Arbitron ratings. There would be no moratorium on Johnny Football. I dream of writing the following headline:

Manziel to raise Alpacas in the offseason

I envision the first 20 comments debating whether Manziel has legitimate Alpaca presence or whether he’d scramble at the first sign of trouble.

Alas, I cannot endorse this fantasy. The Browns should draft a quarterback with one of their first three picks, but none of them makes sense at No. 4. It would be a selection based more on hope than sound rationale.

Everyone knows quarterback is the most important player on the field. But all members of the position's upper crust in this draft – Manziel, Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr – come with legitimate question marks. As one league executive noted to the Boston Globe, every team "that perceivably needs a quarterback signed one in free agency."

The Browns added Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen, but more importantly have Brian Hoyer in place. Coach Mike Pettine said last week he thinks teams can make mistakes starting rookie quarterbacks too soon.

The Browns have a war chest of draft picks – three in the top 35 and eight in the top 145. They should be able to move up from No. 26 (their second first-round pick) if they fear a quarterback they desire is about to come off the board.

There are simply too many other good options at No. 4 for the Browns. NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock addressed the dilemma facing all quarterback-needy teams during a February conference call.

“I think the important thing is to get the pick right, and if they are not in love with any of those three quarterbacks, this is one of the best position Top 10s I've ever seen,” Mayock said when asked specifically about the Houston Texans and Manziel. “Taking a position kid or trading down makes a ton of sense for these guys.”

The Browns shouldn’t need to trade down.

If anyone from this grouping -- Jadeveon Clowney, Khalil Mack, Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans or Greg Robinson -- is available, the Browns have themselves a good player.

I've heard and read research about the struggles of wide receivers early in the draft. Monday Morning Quarterback's Greg Bedard observes only 1-in-3 receivers taken in the first two rounds since 2009 have caught at least 50 passes in a season. It's hard to imagine, however, another wideout coming into a better scenario than the one the Browns afford: a first-team All-Pro receiver on the other side and a Pro Bowl tight end over the middle.

Coaches also don’t care as much about individual stats as they do the threat and dilemma the talents of good receivers create. A Josh Gordon-Watkins pairing is tantalizing.

“(Gordon) could have a very low-production game if teams are just rolling their coverage to him, but the effect that that has on the rest of the defense and the benefit that you have offensively . . .” Pettine said.

Selecting Watkins or Evans also provides you with insurance in case Gordon were to fail another drug test and suffer a one-year ban.

It’s doubtful Clowney is available at No. 4, but there’s a decent chance Mack will be. The University of Buffalo linebacker is the most complete player in draft, an edge rusher who can drop into coverage and make plays. I will be writing more on Mack later this week – spoiler alert: It's for our package of stories on "who to take at No. 4."

Some will argue Watkins and Mack are luxury picks, the Browns need help elsewhere. After 15 years of wafer-thin lineups, what’s wrong with loading up at several positions, especially ones that feature playmakers?

Adding an offensive tackle would not be my first option, the Browns already have lots of money and assets invested in the line, but many agree Robinson would be a solid top-5 choice.

Which brings us back to quarterbacks: There’s no consensus on any of the top signal callers.

“The more tape I watch of (Manziel, Bortles and Bridgewater), the more questions I have,” Mayock said.

Ideally, you want to find the stud quarterback early in the draft and build the team around him, but Seattle has proven you can win a Super Bowl by adding Russell Wilson in the third round. Cincinnati has shown you can make multiple playoff appearances with an inconsistent second-rounder like Andy Dalton.

Taking a quarterback at No. 4 feels like forcing one into double coverage. Grab a position player at that spot, then identify a quarterback. If he happens to raise Alpacas in the offseason all the better.