All the experts claim they have figured out Johhny Football. Oh Really??
He's been projected as high as #1 overall and referred to by one anonymous NFL GM as "undraftable". I have never been one to get caught up in the hype of any college QB leading into the draft. I was not thrilled with any of the QB's we have drafted in the past 15 years including Pennington, Sanchez and Smith. Ironically I did like Kellen Clemens in the early 2nd round, who obviously never panned out. I also ended up becoming a big fan of Pennington even though I hated taking him in the 1st. (Sidebar: I'd love to have him back as a part of this organization in some-sort-of coaching capacity, but that's another thread.) I have a hard time thinking of any QB I've truly been excited about from the draft, mainly because you simply can't tell from watching a guy in college how he will translate to the pro's. That being said, having the right guy behind center is the key to winning a championship in this league (especially in 2014).
So how do we find our guy? The Jets have had a philosophy for many years that has survived 2 owners and a bunch of GM's. They've chased the fading veteran. Boomer... O'Donell... Vinnie... even Favre. Now they are talking about brining in Schaub from Houston or Vick from Philly. I do understand the importance of a seasoned veteran in a QB competition, but I would frankly take Sanchez over either one of these washed up dudes. I'd like to refer to them as "formerly great" but that would be a lie. Formerly average QB's in their 30's rarely equal success. Rich Gannon is a one in a million shot.
My ideal scenario this off-season would be restructuring Sanchez (drastic pay cut), obviously keeping Geno and Simms, and drafting Johny Manziel from Texas A&M. If we use our multitude of draft picks this year (9 in all) and our projected $40 million plus in cap room to make a huge impact on the overall talent level of our offense, one of the aforementioned signal callers can be the guy we need to lead this team into the playoffs. Especially considering the state of the other 3 teams in our division.
All 4 are interesting players with very different skill sets. Simms would be the obvious long shot, Geno would have a leg up on everyone after winning 8 games with Mornhinweg, and Sanchez would also have a steep climb to get back to the #1 spot. This group makes sense financially, we could afford them all, unfortuneately to score Manziel we would have to move up into the top 5. A player taken that high is pretty much an automatic starter. So this whole scenario falls to pieces because of how hot Johnny Football has gotten now that we are only 10 or so weeks from the draft.
I'll write about the other 3 QB's who are already on the roster including why I have changed my tune about keeping #6 for the right price, but this thread is about Johnny. My feelings on this prospect are dynamic and passionate.
What I like: His arm strength, elusiveness, speed of his release, (which have all been criticized by a lot of scouts) and obviously his foot speed/acceleration. His intangibles are by far the most appealing thing about this special player. He's one part Eli Manning, one part Tim Tebow, and one part Doug Flutie in big moments. He's very simply fun to watch because you know he will leave it all on the field every week. He's insanely cocky, but in a way that will rally his teammates because he's a bit undersized.
That leads me to what I don't like: His overall footwork is wildly inconsistent, he has way too much confidence in his arm (he thinks he's Dan Marino... which he certainly is not), his frame is way too small and fragile to survive the beating he will take in the NFL (see RG III and Mr. Vick who I mentioned earlier in this thread). You will not be able to stop this kid from running with the ball, which you wouldn't want to do, but you would want to control it. Russell Wilson is smart and humble and has outstanding offensive coaches up in the Pacific Northwest. We simply don't have the right people to develop Manziel. ;(
I think this special player could win a Super Bowl, but he would need to be in the right system with a solid franchise. Playing for Rex Ryan would be the kiss of death. My other big issue with this kid is that his draft stock is way too inflated. He would ideally be an early 2nd rounder like Kapernick or Geno Smith. I'd even consider his late 1st round if you were really thirsty for him. But he may actually go #1 overall, and that's just way too high of a pick for a player with so many question marks/ durability concerns. Risk/Reward go hand in hand. You have to roll the dice from time to time to jump start your franchise, but this kid could seriously use a year on the bench to learn, which isn't a reality when you are a top 5 pick at QB.
Either way I will be rooting for this young man and watching him. My fingers are crossed that he will land in the right place and stay healthy. The 2 places I'd love to see him land would be Denver or New Orleans. He could sit a while and then step up in 2015 or even 2016. That would give this kid a real chance to develop into a force like Aaron Rodgers. Dallas would be a nice sleeper to chace him, but they gave Romo that horrendous contract that handcuffs them as an organization for a while. Frankly any team in the top 5 of this years draft may take him, and he won't make it out of the top 5... but if any team could really use him, and has a realistic shot at moving up it would be Minnesota. If Houston and St. Louis don't bite, I think Minnesota could move up from the 8th spot to the 3rd by flipping draft picks with Jacksonville. That would launch that franchise into being a contender with one draft pick. Defending Johnny and Adrian Peterson, with Patterson and his elite speed on the outside would be a daunting task for any defense. Just an idea.
