Conventional NFL offenses ask the quarterback to pass from the pocket - read through your progressions, then throw to the best option. That’s what the system dictates.
But Johnny Manziel isn’t a system quarterback. He built his legend at Texas A&M on his ability to freelance and improvise. He’s at his best when he’s out of the pocket on the move. When he’s scrambling, running, extending plays and creating havoc with his legs.
If you draft Manziel, he becomes your offense. His NFL team must craft a scheme that features what Johnny Football does best. That means letting go of what most offensive gurus consider sacred: their playbook.
Few offensive gurus would be willing to do that. Giving up their playbook and the ability to dictate plays would be giving up control of their own destiny as a coach.
That’s why I think there are only a handful of teams seriously considering Manziel: those teams whose head coaches have backgrounds on defense. Those coaches aren’t worried about their ego on the offensive side of the ball. They can draft Manziel, then order their offensive staff to make it work.
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Cleveland, Houston, Jacksonville, Minnesota, Oakland and Tampa Bay are all in the market for a quarterback, and all select in the top 10 of the NFL draft Thursday night. All but the Texans have head coaches with defensive backgrounds.
My guess is the Browns (head coach Mike Pettine), Jaguars (Gus Bradley), Vikings (Mike Zimmer), Raiders (Dennis Allen) and Buccaneers (Lovie Smith) will all know Johnny Manziel inside and out by the time they go on the clock Thursday night.