When getting drafted onto the biggest stage of all, many players think the spotlight is all on them. Those players are greedy, careless jerks who want all the attention. One example of this is Johnny Manziel, who was drafted out of Texas Tech with the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 draft and is considered one of the biggest draft busts in all of the sports. If you want to know how to act at the next level, do not take notes from Johnny Manziel. Here’s how it all started, came to be, and what is he doing now?
Just a boy from Texas
Johnny Manziel was born on December 6th, 1992 in Tyler, Texas. He would grow up there all his life and gain attention in his high school years at Tivy High School. He became a top prospect there and decided to attend college at Texas A&M University. There he gained a reputation on campus, he became a star. Not just in the state of Texas, but all over the country.
It seemed at times he would make a highlight every single game, and many started to take notice. His biggest moment came against #1 Alabama. On the road, Texas A&M beat Alabama 29-24, and Manziel was responsible for 345 yards of offense in this gigantic Aggies win. But in that light, Johnny would start to become cocky, and self-confident.
He had a reputation off the field that became frowned upon. In June of 2012, Johnny was arrested and taken to jail for having a fake ID and fighting with others. Texas A&M fined him $2000, but this was only the beginning of Manziel’s off-the-field issues. However, that year it all seemed to go away for a little while when he undoubtedly won the Heisman. But next season, it was all the same. More off-the-field issues, constant partying, drugs, and alcohol, Texas A&M got sick of it.
Then like that, Manziel’s career at Texas A&M was over. He declared for the 2014 NFL draft. Many thought that Manziel was egotistical and too much of a party animal, and were worried that it might take his mind off of football and continue to get him more in trouble. He was referred to as, “undraftable”. Many were skeptical of him even making the transition to the NFL, add his off-the-field issues, and he was the most perfectly imperfect player that could get drafted. But there was the side of him that is a top athlete and could change the Browns franchise. A former NFL coach called him an “arrogant little prick”, as well as one of the best quarterbacks he has ever seen (dawgpounddaily).
But the Cleveland Browns saw something in him, they saw his highlights in college and how he could simply take over games and be an X factor, something the Browns have craved for years. See, the Cleveland Browns are notorious for drafting quarterbacks that are the worst in the league. They have drafted 31 quarterbacks since 1991, and none of them were good. Trent Dilfer, Doug Pederson, Baker Mayfield, all are drafted in the first round and completely fail expectations. Johnny Manziel was the next victim on that list, and he may be one of the worst on it. And so, they drafted him. It seems like everyone but the Browns didn’t want him to get drafted, but the Browns did anyways. This meme explains it perfectly.
Downward Spiral
Johnny Manziel made his debut during Week 15 of the 2014 season against the Bengals, who at that time wasn’t very good. This was a good idea by the Browns, their season was pretty much over, so let’s start our rookie quarterback against a bad team and see what he can do. Seems like a good idea right? Manziel was ATROCIOUS against Cincinnati, going ⅝ and throwing for 63 yards. This is a video showing the debut. He did score his first touchdown in the 4th quarter on a 10-yard rush, but the Browns ultimately lost 26-10.
And just like college, Manziel’s off-the-field reputation haunted him. He showed up late to a team meeting and was fined. As a rookie, you should be doing everything in your power to prove who you are, and this just shows how irresponsible Johnny was. These issues continued throughout the 2014 year.
In early 2015, it had surfaced that Johnny was undergoing rehab, which was a good sign. It showed that Johnny Football actually cared about his job and possibly was going to take his job seriously. Fans were hopeful, maybe he will change his ways. Throughout the spring, he started to build up his relationship and reputation with others. Offensive Lineman Joe Thomas said, “pretty apparent he’s realized how important football is to him, and he’s realized that in the NFL you can’t get away with maybe some of the things that you did in college…”.
Coaches started to respect him, and finally, Manziel got his first start against the Titans in late September with a hurt Josh McCown and ended up winning 28-14. It seemed that finally, things were starting to look up for Money Manziel…and it immediately came crashing down when he partied again during a bye week. He was delegated to the 3rd string quarterback. He also lied when the reports came out. Many lost their trust in him yet again. Coach Mike Pettine said, “pretty apparent he’s realized how important football is to him, and he’s realized that in the NFL you can’t get away with maybe some of the things that you did in college…”
And it seemed Johnny chose the bad guy route, as all of the rest of the year. It seemed week after week as he made the highlight reel in college, he was now causing drama off the field. And finally, the Browns waived him in March of 2016.
Bouncing Around
For the next 2 seasons, Johnny was not claimed by any teams. Until one day, he signed a two-year contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League in March of 2018. Many were very skeptical to finally see Money Manziel in action again. So was Hamilton, as he was benched for 6 games for them and was traded to the Montreal Allouetes. In his debut with Montreal, he threw 4 interceptions in a 50-11 loss. No one was surprised, he hasn’t played any football since 2016. This debut was nothing short of a disaster. He played 8 more games with Montreal until the season ended and quit.
He decided to try once more with the Memphis Express in the Alliance of American Football in early 2019. He played a whopping 1 game with them and then quit once more at the end of the season.
And yet again, he joined a different league. How has he not given up yet? He joined the Fan Controlled Football League oddly enough out of boredom. He was assigned to the Zappers and played, again, 1 game. This is the last time we have seen Manziel play football.
It’s not official, but Johnny Manziel is pretty much retired. He said he has no interest playing pro football in the future.
The saddest thing is he had so much potential. He was young, exciting, and fun to watch. Every game he would shock people watching. That money symbol he throws up afer a big play was his upbringing, but also his downfall.
A promising young career, thrown away in the trash because of some stupid choices. It all happened so quickly.
This last Monday night game was a disaster. The refs sucked, there was a flag on what seemed like every play and yet there were countless missed calls, one of the few things that didn’t suck in the game was Justin Fields in the second half. He had a total of 300 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. So not too bad. He looked very promising, if I’m the Bears then I’m excited about my rookie QB’s future. Fields were Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded QB in Week 9 with a 90.5 grade. He received an 88.5 passing grade and a 71.2 rushing grade. So far this season he has some nice highlights, like his touchdown run against the 49ers. When you have a quarterback who can make the right reads, who can throw the ball 70 yards accurately, can outrun defensive backs with ease, who’s as agile as a wide receiver, and who’s a rookie approaching his 8th start, it’s pretty much a cheat code. Assuming that Fields stays healthy and keeps improving as fast as he is, he is going to have a very good career.
