2014 NFL Draft: Is Johnny Manziel a Top Five Lock After Bowl Game?

Dec 31, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas A

Johnny Manziel is the college football player that you either love, or love to hate, but no matter which side of the fence you land on, it’s impossible to deny the way that this kid has been able to consistently impress on the football field.

Magic Manziel was sifting through a new bag of tricks for his latest Houdini performance, somehow fabricating a win out of a first half blowout against the Duke Blue Devils on New Year’s Eve.

What a way to cap off 2013. What a way to cap off a college career.

If indeed the Chick Fil A Bowl was Manziel’s final college game, he went out in style. The Aggies were getting hammered at the end of the first half, and Manziel found a way to lead his team to a comeback victory. He threw four touchdowns passes and rushed for another in the 52-48 win, and it left me wondering–is Manziel a lock for the top five picks of the 2014 NFL Draft?

My gut right now says yes, but there’s a lot that could go down between now and May.

It’s important to look at the big picture with Manziel, and not just focus on one game. Manziel is one of the most productive college football players we have ever seen, and he’s proven if nothing else to be an elite playmaker. With a majority of the teams picking in the top five (save St. Louis) needing a quarterback, I seriously doubt if the former Heisman Trophy winner makes it past the first four or five picks.

To me, Manziel is the most interesting prospect in the draft. More so than Jadeveon Clowney or Teddy Bridgewater, and even if I’m the Houston Texans, I have a tough time picking Bridgewater over Manziel at this point, but that’s just me.

If you’re an NFL coach, you have to love a guy willing to take risks. I think Manziel’s ability to make something out of nothing so often as well as his improvements as a pocket passer and a leader as a teammate have intrigued me enough to the point that I would feel very comfortable using a premiere draft pick on him.

It’ll be interesting to see how Manziel approaches this offseason, but with two years of eligibility left, it’s no guarantee he’ll go to the NFL. Still, if your philosophy is to strike while the iron is hot, there might be no better time for Manziel to bolt for the NFL than right now.