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Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel will go into the 2014 NFL Draft hoping a team from Texas drafts him on May 8th. One might, but it’s possible it won’t be the one he’d hoped or anyone else would expect.
ESPN’s Ed Werder added fuel to the fire of that light rumor, suggesting on SportsCenter that if Manziel isn’t taken number one overall by the Houston Texans and ends up sliding, the Dallas Cowboys could think about drafting him with the 16th overall selection.
Werder’s suggestion is mostly just radio talk, but ProFootballTalk.com brought it one step further, suggesting that Dallas might actually trade up if Manziel was still hanging around beyond the 8th spot, where the Minnesota Vikings pick.
With the public endorsement of Manziel by Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones, the Manziel to Dallas talk is starting to gain some steam.
“Jerry Jones was raving about [Manziel] this weekend…in front of [Tony] Romo,” said Werder on the air.
It’s an interesting notion with Tony Romo locked up to a long-term deal, although the 34-year old quarterback is recovering from offseason back surgery.
Is It Really Possible?
Money aside, it’s not all that crazy for Jones to think about the future under center. Romo has been a fantastic regular season quarterback and has shown up in the clutch several times, but he’s also failed to produce a winner in Dallas and is known for his various meltdowns in big games. In fact, despite starting under center for the Cowboys the past eight seasons, he still has just one playoff victory to his name.
The downside is pretty obvious. There is a ton of money tied into Romo, he’s still playing at a high level and having any young, talented passer behind him would create waves. But Johnny Football? That would undoubtedly shake the Cowboys to their core.
On the flip-side, Dallas hasn’t been to the playoffs the past three years and Romo is no young pup anymore. Manziel is also young enough at just 21 years old that he could learn and grow for 2-3 years, through Romo’s age 36 or 37 season.
Whether or not it’s the right move for the Cowboys is very much open for debate. But the plausibility isn’t. With Jones calling the shots, anything can happen with these Cowboys when it comes to the draft.
