I don’t like teams who just draft players because of workouts and measurables, especially quarterbacks. Listen closely to the Bills reasoning behind drafting Manuel.
Bills coach Doug Marrone revealed in an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio that Manuel impressed Buffalo’s brass by throwing the ball well during an extremely windy thunderstorm at a private workout in Tallahassee, Fla.
Marrone said that Manuel’s performance in the wet, windy conditions helped convince the Bills that the former Florida State star would be able to handle inclement weather in Buffalo, especially in December and January.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 237 pounds, Manuel has a strong arm, is mobile and went 25-6 in four years with the Seminoles. He also had the largest hands (10 3/8 inches) and longest arms (35 inches) of any of the quarterbacks at the NFL scouting combine.
“We started talking about the quarterbacks, and we went back and researched all the teams that played in the Northeast in the bad weather and all the success they had with quarterbacks and the common traits that they had,” Marrone told Sirius XM. “They were big and had big hands and were able to throw the ball in tough weather, and that’s what we were looking at.”
This is a terrible way to decide to draft a quarterback. Playing quarterback in the NFL is more about brains and instincts than how long your arms are.
Not saying Manuel can’t be a success, but his long arms aren’t going to be the reason for it. The Bills better pray he has the intangibles to be a franchise quarterback.
Successful quarterbacks come in all shapes and sizes, it is their intangibles not their hands or how good they looked in the rain that makes successful.
You need the physical tools and Manuel has those, but you should know by now that isn’t enough, just ask JaMarcus Russell.
