Johnny Manziel says NFL Draft was ‘wacky’
Coming into the 2014 NFL Draft, there were a lot of smokescreens, misdirections, and unjust criticism surrounding former Texas A&M quarterback in Johnny Manziel. Some say he was worthy of the number one overall pick. Some said he wasn’t as talented as projected, therefore being a player they’d select after the third round.
None of that mattered on draft night as the quarterback dealt with an Aaron Rodgers-esque slide before being selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd overall pick. And how would he describe his draft experience soon after being picked?
“Any team that was on the clock, whatever the situation was, I felt there was a possibility. It was a little bit of a wacky draft.”
It wasn’t ludicrous to see teams pass on Manziel. The Houston Texans opted to go with the hyper-athletic freak in Jadeveon Clowney with the first pick of the draft. The Jacksonville Jaguars reached by selecting Blake Bortles at three making him of the three quarterbacks selected in the first round. And the teams that had been connected to the quarterback through rumors and sources, Minnesota, Cleveland, and Dallas, had opted to go elsewhere. It took the Browns trading up in the draft in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to finally get Manziel off the board.
Many have compared Manziel’s slide to that of Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Brady Quinn, two of the three being sure-ins for the NFL Hall-of-Fame while the other flamed out of the league after faltering under expectations coming out of Notre Dame. If one had to guess, Manziel would likely fall somewhere in between Hall of Famer and flat-out bust. For the Browns sake, they hope he leans toward Brees and Rodgers.
After all the hype and impressing the world on the collegiate playing level, it’s time for Manziel to prove he’s as good as pundits say he is and the critics say he isn’t.. The work starts now for the most famous rookie in the world.
“It’s good to mix things up. I’m excited for the change. I’m excited to have a place called home.”