http://www.csnwashington.com/redskinsblog/browns-maybe-eyeing-mariota-possible-trade-partner-redskins?p=ya5nbcs&ocid=yahoo By: RICH TANDLERRedskins BloggerDo the Redskins have a potential trade partner for the No. 5 pick in the upcoming NFL draft? They just might if the Cleveland Browns’ purported interest in Marcus Mariota turns into action.Here’s the setup. Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweeted today that Browns GM Ray Farmer “has shown a liking” for Mariota, the Heisman Trophy winner who is one of the top two QB prospects in the draft.But the connection goes deeper than that. The Browns have hired Kevin O’Connell to be their quarterbacks coach. He landed that job while working with Mariota during the Oregon product’s pre-combine training. He is finished up that work before he signs his contract to join the Browns staff.You don’t need a very sharp pencil to connect those dots.The Browns, however, aren’t currently in a position to draft Mariota. Their first pick is 12th overall and Mariota is highly unlikely to make it out of the top 10. But the Browns also hold the 19th pick and I’ll bet that if the phone rings in Ashburn with a Berea, Ohio area code on the caller ID, Scot McCloughan will answer it very quickly.If you go by the draft trade chart the Browns would be overpaying by giving up No. 12 (1,200 points) and 19 (875) to move up to the Redskins five hole spot (1,700). Maybe Cleveland would pay a premium for the spot if there is competition for it. Or perhaps some other picks could be swapped to even things out. In any case, if the two parties are motivated there is a deal that could be done.To tap the brakes on this a bit, consider that the Browns did take a quarterback in the first round last year, Johnny Manziel. And they did the same three years ago. But Brandon Weeden, that 2012 pick, is already backing up Tony Romo in Dallas and Manziel, well, you know the story there. And, hate to say it, but these are the Browns we're talking about. They go about things in their own, sometimes strange way. We have a ways to go before things really start to percolate and it's unlikely that the trigger would be pulled before the Redskins are on the clock on the evening of April 30, the first day of the draft. But this is something to keep an eye on.
