If there is one person in college football that truly understands the talent of Johnny Manziel, it is Nick Saban. The Texas A&M quarterback has been the thorn in the side of the Alabama head coach. Despite getting the win against the reigning Heisman winner, Manziel remains the talk of the town after lighting up the Crimson Tide defense. Despite his dazzling stats, certain NFL scouts are cold on Manziel.
Sports Illustrated's Peter King reports Manziel has been deemed "undraftable" by several NFL scouts. The quarterback put up 562 yards of total offense against top-ranked Alabama and yet some scouts are simply not sold on him. King writes that Manziel's off-the-field and on-the-field behavior have scared off several teams from making him a top draft pick. Saban simply does not see that being true.
"I think Johnny's a unique player," Saban said, via AL.com. "Many people have said about these guys, like [Robert Griffin III], that they're not really NFL-style quarterbacks. But yet they're all doing pretty well in the NFL. I think when somebody's as instinctive as [Manziel] is, and as fast as he is, and as athletic as he is, and he's developing into a pretty good passer-I mean last year he really developed as a passer-I do think he has an NFL future."
Saban certainly is well-aware of Manziel's football talents. In 2012 the quarterback put up 35 yards of total offense and two passing touchdowns while handing the Tide their only loss of the year. He followed that up with 464 yards of passing offense, five touchdowns and two interceptions in 2013. That kind of performance has been clouded with NCAA investigations, taunting penalties and poor social media behavior. Despite all of that, the Cleveland Browns could be the first team to give Manziel an extended look.
Two games into the 2013 season and the Browns look poised to be drafting a quarterback very early in next year's draft. Brandon Weeden is not getting the job done and the team does not have any emerging talent underneath him. Bleacher Report notes that the Browns did in fact send their assistant general manager to last Saturday's game in College Station to scout out Manziel. That was certainly a performance to see.
There will be a team that drafts Manziel in the top 10. Is he a No. 1-overall pick? That remains to be seen, but most NFL teams are willing to put aside NCAA scandals in favor of top-level talent.