ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr on how Johnny Manziel ’s skills translate to the NFL:
“Very well in today’s NFL, and certainly Fran Tarkenton did it back in an era when it wasn’t a wide-open pass-happy league, and I think that’s who he compares to, Johnny Manziel. You look at the ability to throw the football from the pocket, that’s something he’ll continue to improve, which he did between last year and this year — make strides in this area. His creativity, his instincts, his guttiness, his competitiveness are all positives. They’re all ‘10+’. The concern’s going to be with his style – his running style and that frame, which isn’t very big. It’s six-foot. Staying healthy, being durable, playing smart, not trying to prove you’re the toughest guy on the field, by getting out of bounds, sliding. If he does that and protects his frame, his skillset translates to today’s NFL very effectively.
“It’s going to be an interesting first round, particularly the early portion because you have five of the top eight teams picking overall needing quarterbacks. Problem is, I have (Tedy) Bridgewater at eight, Blake Bortles, Central Florida (at) nine, Manziel at 12. They get an automatic bump because they’re quarterbacks … but be careful. These are not Andrew Luck, RGIII-type quarterbacks coming out. They’re up there, but they’re not one, two, three, four, and that’s where the teams that are picking need quarterbacks,” Mel Kiper Jr said
Mel Kiper Jr has Manziel rated as the No. 3 quarterback prospect on his current NFL Draft Big Board.
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)