Dallas Cowboys, Johnny Manziel pairing is inevitable

Prior to making their top selection in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys were divided on their possible selection. On one side of the Cowboys war room sat owner and general manager Jerry Jones. On the other side, everyone else.

More from The Landry Hat

At the time, Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel was surprisingly still available, and he was the top player on what was left of Dallas’ draft board. Jones wanted Manziel. But conceded that Notre Dame offensive lineman Zack Martin was what the team needed.

In the end, the Cowboys choose Martin 16th overall. And Manziel tumbled down draft boards until being selected by the Cleveland Browns 22nd overall. Dallas’ new offensive guard became the only rookie to be named to the NFL’s All-Pro first team and earned a Pro Bowl bid in his first season.

Johnny Football struggled to get on the field his rookie year, playing in only five games. And when Manziel did play, he looked out of place and overwhelmed when he did. The former Aggie star recorded a total of 175 passing yards and two interceptions in 2014.

Drafting Martin over Manziel was a decision that was hailed as a major success for the Cowboys front office. And it was part of the reason Jones was ultimately named the NFL’s Executive of the Year last season. But that doesn’t mean the 73-year old owner doesn’t still pine for Manziel to this very day.

"“Except if a great one, Roethlisberger or Manziel falls,”Jones told G-Bag Nation on 105.3 The Fan KRLD-FM last week via the Dallas Morning News when asked about the prospect of drafting quarterback next year. ‘There’s been a lot of criticism over sitting there, going to the last minute of the clock with Martin sitting there. We had Manziel at the top of our board, on the board. So he’s a legitimate board pick and we’re sitting there and grinding through should we go for this opportunity to take a quarterback that’s high that’s dropped down and start getting ready in case for when Romo is not here or God forbid if he got hurt. That’s what I sat there for the last minute and stared at everybody and looked at everybody so that we could say, ‘Is this that shot? One has dropped to us?’ Now you can hindsight and look at how things have gone in Cleveland, but still that’s exactly why we sat there and had the agony.”"

Even after all of Manziel’s failings in Cleveland, Jones still rates the 22-year old so highly he’s willing to compare him to a two-time Super Bowl champion. I believe that means that a pairing of both the Cowboys and Johnny Manziel sometime in the future is simply inevitable.

The Browns appeared to be on the brink of getting rid of Manziel this offseason, as the young man voluntarily entered a rehabilitation center following his first season. Although the young prospect has earned a bit more respect in his second year, Cleveland named 36-year-old Josh McCown it’s starter.

But now that the Browns are 2-7, it’s unclear if they’ll decide to play Johnny Football even if McCown returns from injury and is healthy. Manziel’s play for the rest of the year will likely decide his fate, as Cleveland has gotten rid of an underperforming first round quarterback after only two season before. His name is Brandon Weeden.

Next: Six Dallas Cowboys Who Deserve Pink Slips

As for the Cowboys, they desperately need a young quarterback to groom behind a 35-year old Tony Romo who has missed a majority of this season due to injury. And the team is expected to find one in next year’s draft. But if Manziel ever hits the free agent market, I fully expect his first stop to be in Dallas visit with Jones. And I’m not sure the enamored owner let’s Johnny Football out of the building without signing a contract first.

Home/Cowboys News