Heading into the 2014 NFL Draft, Johnny Manziel is without a doubt the player with the most attention on him. Not because he could potentially be the first player taken, but because there is such a wide variety of opinions on where he will ultimately be taken.
After putting on a show at his Pro Day, whether that was a sideshow or just a show of athletic prowess is debatable, Manziel’s place in the draft is once again a hot topic.
Opinions have varied greatly on what that Pro Day did for Manziel’s draft stock. Some scouts believe it put Manziel atop the draft board, others were a bit more negative. Recently, two scouts contacted Houston-area radio host Lance Zierlin and had some less than favorable things to say about the former Heisman-winner.
“Two NFL scouts contacted Houston radio host Lance Zierlein in the days following Manziel’s 64-throw workout on the TAMU campus last Thursday, one of which grades Manziel as a third-day pick(rounds 4-7) and suggested that Manziel doesn’t compare at all with Robert Griffin III as a draft prospect.”
Yikes.
While comparing Manziel and RGIII is probably not the wisest thing to do, I guess I could see why a scout would use that example. However it isn’t necessarily a terrible thing that Manziel isn’t considered as good as a guy who the Redskins traded three first-rounders for. Nobody, with any sanity at least, has compared this year’s quarterback class to the Andrew Luck/RGIII/Russell Wilson monster class.
But calling Manziel a third-day pick? Really? That just sounds like a salty scout who doesn’t like Manziel. In no world is Johnny Manziel a 4th-7th round pick, especially in this year’s draft.
It seems that the Manziel situation is driving scouts crazy. Nobody wants to be wrong in making a big-time pick, and whichever team takes Manziel will be under a lot of pressure to get him to develop and perform. The NFL Draft can’t come soon enough.