News leaked earlier this morning that Johnny Football himself is declaring for the 2014 NFL draft.
The Texas A&M red shirt sophomore quarterback has quite the reputation both on and off the field and there is some question as to how NFL teams will view him.
On the field, Manziel is an accomplished athlete. He is a Heisman Trophy winner and led his team team to many notable wins and bowl appearances. His style off the field has led some to label him a frat boy and arrogant. Â Regardless, word is that Manziel is highly regarded among NFL scouts.
Manziel is a running quarterback, which is quickly becoming the most popular style quarterback in the NFL. Obviously some teams still prefer to run their offenses with a pocket quarterback, so not everyone will be chomping at the bit to get Manziel on their squad. Plus some teams do not want the media baggage that comes from Manziel’s off the field lifestyle.Â
Manziel likes to scramble around out of the pocket and extend player with his feet and no team wants a quarterback who is going to put his health at risk on every other play by scrambling around. No team wants to have to deal with an RGIII situation. At the same time, in order for Manziel to succeed, he can’t really be caged in the pocket, as it is simply not his style.
So who exactly would be interested in picking up Manziel?
The teams with the first five picks in the draft are the Houston Texans, St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders. Four of those teams will presumably looking for a new quarterback (Texans, Jags, Browns and Raiders). Even if Manziel some how does not get picked by one of those teams, The Minnesota Vikings who get a number eight pick. If the Vikings pass up Manziel as well, the the Tennessee Titans with the number 11 pick will snatch him up as they enter a rebuilding phase and will likely not want to build around the frequently injured Jake Locker who they are expected to not resign in a couple of years.
Manziel will most likely be picked in the top five. If he does not go then, he will likely got to either the Vikings or the Titans.Â
