They paid $100,000 for an advanced analysis of which quarterback to draft, then they took a homeless man’s advice instead.
That’s the punchline for the Cleveland Browns, who dared to take electrifying, opinion-dividing quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 22nd overall pick in the NFL Draft Thursday night after a flurry of trades — and some very interesting avenues of research.
During the ESPN broadcast, reporter Sal Paolantonio related a bizarre story he heard from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.
“Here is Cleveland, everywhere I go, people know me,” Haslam reportedly told ESPN, “and I was out to dinner recently and a homeless person was out on the street, looked up at me, and said, ‘Draft Manziel,’ just like that,” and that convinced him that the Cleveland Browns’ fans wanted Manziel.
Mind you, Haslam is not officially involved in personnel decisions, but the encounter did seem to carry some weight.
This folksy origin story comes on the heels of a report, also from ESPN, the Browns shelled out six figures for a study that used advanced analytics to evaluate quarterback prospects. The $100,000 conclusion: Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater, whom the Browns bypassed multiple times, including when they liberated Manziel from the green room.
That project was commissioned by former team president Joe Banner, who has since left the team, putting general manager Ray Farmer in charge of the draft process.