2014 NFL Draft: Dallas Cowboys pass on Johnny Manziel at no. 16
By Hayden Kane
There it was. The moment. The perfect storm. The recipe for social media chaos. The draft pick that Jerry Jones dreams of.
The Dallas Cowboys were on the clock with the no. 16 pick. Quarterback Johnny Manziel was on the board. If the draft were decided by hype and narrative-building, Manziel would have strode up to the podium and held up a Cowboys jersey.
For once, however, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys did not let hype and buzz dictate their pick. Instead they went with a substantive pick that actually fills an important need, passing on Manziel.
Loudest reaction from the crowd here so far. Zack Martin from ND to the Cowboys. Johnny Football continues to slide. #NFLDraft
— The MMQB (@theMMQB) May 9, 2014
With Manziel now falling into a nebulous portion of the draft where there is no obvious fit, a number of teams in need of a quarterback could make an aggressive move and trade back in to draft Johnny Football. That might be what it takes; as many folks projected, teams were too attracted to the other talent in the draft to take him in the first half of the opening round.
To the surprise of many, the Cowboys were one of those teams that went a different direction. Wherever Manziel lands, we can reasonably cross Dallas off that list.