Reasons That Johnny Manziel Is Not Ready for the NFL

When Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel burst onto the scene in 2012, the entire nation was captivated with his flash and efficiency. As a redshirt freshman, Manziel led the Aggies to wins over Missouri and No. 1 Alabama en route to his personal achievement of being the first freshman to receive the Davey O’Brien Award and the Heisman Trophy. Even so, Manziel is not ready for the NFL.

Everybody around the country is aware of what Manziel can do on the field. It’s his off-the-field escapades that make him such a polarizing figure.

In addition to the controversy Manziel faced in his early-season suspension for allegedly receiving money for autographs, there’s the episode where he was possibly hungover while working at the Manning camp and endless instances of partying and underage drinking throughout the offseason following his breakout.

Many have weighed in on this issue, including NFL All-Pro and three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.

When asked his thoughts on Manziel by Joe Kernan of CNBC’s Squawk Box (h/t Chase Goodbread of NFL.com), Brady replied by saying “If you’re a turd, it’s going to come back to you.”

His level of maturity was put on full display on June 15, 2013—via Manziel’s Twitter—when the redshirt sophomore tweeted (h/t ESPN.com) “Bull**** like tonight is a reason why I can’t wait to leave college station… whenever it may be.”

One can only speculate as to Manziel’s activities on the Saturday night in question. However, is this the Manziel we’re going to see on Sundays?

Brady went on to say “there’s not a guy playing in the NFL who hasn’t earned the right to be here, and who isn’t supremely talented.”

As such, what sets good NFL quarterbacks apart? It’s not their size and speed per se, but their character and attitude. NFL scouts talk all the time about intangibles.

In the 1998 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers selected No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. There were two quarterbacks at the top of the draft board in no particular order, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. Both were physically-gifted quarterbacks.

The future of Manning needs no explanation, but let’s take a closer look at Leaf and compare him to Manziel. Let’s pretend for a second that, like many speculate, Manziel will declare for the 2014 NFL draft. That would make this his final college season. With two games remaining, mind you, Manziel has averaged just over 331 passing yards per game and has thrown for 31 touchdowns.

In Leaf’s final season at Washington State, he averaged 331 passing yards per game and passed for a Pac-10 conference-record 33 touchdowns, according to Sports-Reference.com.

When Leaf was selected following Manning in the 1998 draft, his weaknesses didn’t take long to emerge, despite his college prowess. He played just five seasons and threw nearly three times as many interceptions as he did touchdowns. The interceptions clearly weren’t a product of his physical ability, but rather his mental degradation.

Leaf didn’t handle pressure situations well. He was known to lash out at reporters and was unanimously disliked by his teammates.

He was soon out of the NFL. He’s suffered from painkiller addiction, broken into houses and been in and out of jail.

It may seem funny and cute now that Manziel feels the need to post pictures of his Heisman Trophy on Twitter to appease haters, but it’s not something that someone in his position should be doing.

Leaf was desperate for approval as well.

What does maturity matter when you have so much talent? It matters.

A smart NFL general manager will steer clear of Manziel, and Manziel will finish college and take his time to mature, lest he feels the same fate as Leaf did.

Will Grooms is a student in the B/R sports media program. You can find more of his work at Collegiate Times and follow him on Twitter at w_grooms94.