Johnny Manziel officially declared for the NFL Draft yesterday. So that makes formal what we all knew since last summer. So now begins lots of Johnny Manziel speculation, analysis, meta-analysis and meta-analysis of that analysis. Between now and the Draft in May, we’re going to hear the name Johnny Manziel linked to numerous teams at different draft positions. Remember, the closer we get to the draft the more lying gets taken to the art form.
ESPN talking heads assessed Johnny Manziel, and Chris Mortensen seems to have a pretty good idea who will be drafting him.
Senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen, on what he’s hearing from NFL front offices about Johnny Manziel:
“First of all, they believe he is a very exciting football player, but he has this recklessness about him – some say on and off the field – that he needs to corral. One evaluator said he saw him wear down as the season went on in the SEC – did not even look as explosive. But then he freshens up and looks like the old Johnny Football in the bowl game. So, these guys believe he is a first round draft pick. I’ve had more than one evaluator say he’s going to be a top-5 pick, some suspect the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 3.”
Is Johnny Manziel the next Brett Favre? That’s what Trent Dilfer, the game manager of all game-managers thinks. So that’s the opinion of a second ESPN analyst. As for a third, here’a Mel Kiper Jr.’s assessment, and where he has Johnny Manziel on the big board. I have him fourth in my mock to the Cleveland Browns, but this is enough for me to move him up to JAX at #3 in my next update.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments discussing: Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Bears and Bulls on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)