Ron Jaworski: I Wouldn’t Take Johnny Manziel In First Three Rounds Of NFL Draft
Ron Jaworski is not high on Johnny Manziel.
In fact, the ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback said he wouldn’t take the Texas A&M quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner in any of the first three rounds of the NFL draft if he were running a team.
“I’m a big believer in Nick Foles, but who knows? Manziel may fall,” Jaworski told Philly radio station 97.5 The Fanatic, via Phillymag.com. “I’m not crazy about him, to be honest with you. I’ve only looked at five games. I wouldn’t take him in the first three rounds. That’s my opinion. It’s incomplete right now. But he has not done a whole lot to me.”
Johnny Manziel appears to be one of the most polarizing quarterbacks to come out of college since Tim Tebow, with a group of supporter who see him as an electric game-changer and others who see him as arrogant and his skill set a mismatch for the NFL.
Count Ron Jaworski among the latter group.
“He’s a random quarterback who likes to get out of the pocket and make plays with his legs,”Jaworski told SIRIUS NFL Radio about Manziel. “In the NFL, he won’t last three games playing that style. He’ll get hurt. He took a lot of vicious hits at A&M in the last two years.”
The opinion comes with a lot of weight. Jaworski is considered one of the best evaluators of quarterback talent, but has been known to stir up controversy from time to time as well. Last year he claimed that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick could become one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, despite Kaepernick’s still thin resume.
Johnny Manziel appear to understand the criticism, talking in pre-draft interviews about his desire to improve and make his skills more NFL-ready.
“I’m just looking forward to [showing] up all the people who are saying that I’m just an improviser,” he said. “I feel that I worked extremely hard this year to hone in on my game all around. I’m continuing to do that — working out in San Diego [with performance coach George Whitfield], and getting better as a pocket passer and as a quarterback in general.”
But it seems that not many draft evaluators agree with Ron Jaworski in his assessment. Manziel is slated as a top 10 pick in many mock drafts, and even at the top of some drafter’s boards.
