2014 NFL Draft: Johnny Manziel Kills it at Texas A&M Pro Day

I was sold on Johnny Manziel long before his pro day, however the performance he put on Thursday solidified that he is a guy who craves competition, and who thrives in the spotlight.

For all of Manziel’s faults, you have to credit him one thing–he puts on a good show.

Whether or not Manziel is simply playing nice for the media remains to be seen, but from my best estimation, it appears that he has cleaned up his frat boy image and is now, as he puts it, completely and 100 percent focused on football.

Manziel made comments (in my paraphrased form) to Mike Mayock after his throwing session on Thursday that he admires those players like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady who work so hard to be the best in the league, and that he desires to be considered among the best players to play the game as well.

His work habits seem to reflect that. Manziel, for all his partying and ‘rich kid’ garbage that happened a year ago at this time seems to dedicate himself fully to his craft as a football player, showing significant improvements in his sophomore season with the Aggies.

One thing I loved about Manziel at his pro day was the fact that he came out wearing a helmet and shoulder pads. Most players come out in a t-shirt, shorts, and no helmet, but Manziel may have started a new trend. The Houston Texans were well-represented at the event, and came away impressed.

“It’s a controlled environment, so you expect that he would be (accurate). But the way that the ball came out, and the way that he handled himself was impressive,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said. “The leadership that he showed, the accuracy that he showed, all those things — it was a good day for him.”

Some teams were turned off by the fact that the pro day became a spectacle, but those teams also understand that it’s now part of the Manziel package, almost similar to what it was with Tim Tebow. Wherever he goes, he’s going to draw a crowd. That’s just the way it is.

That’s one reason why teams could be deterred from drafting him in the top 10 this year, though I think that would be a mistake. There are rumors floating around that Manziel could drop a bit on draft day, but I certainly don’t see him getting out of the first round.

Check this post out for some more highlights of the Manziel pro day.