Johnny Manziel is a very typical college quarterback. Compare his reel tape to that of Robert Griffin’s from a few years ago, and you’re bound to see a lot of similarities. His style is similar to Russell Wilson’s; however, he is nowhere near as polished. Manziel loves to play outside of the pocket; in fact, he thrived outside of the pocket for his entire college career. When viewing his highlight reel, it is clear that he was able to keep many plays alive by scrambling for over 10 seconds and finding an open receiver. Though this was great for college football, it is difficult to see his style working in the NFL, especially with Watt and Clowney coming at you. Due to this, the Browns have to do a very good job of breeding him into a starter in order to make him a good fit.
Right now, the Browns are in an odd position. Their star wide receiver, Josh Gordon, has just failed another drug test and will potentially be suspended for much of next season. Despite this, the Browns are planning on staying with a pocket style passing game led by which ever quarterback they choose. What they need to do right now is make sure that Johnny Football’s aptitude goes beyond the college system. They need to start running him in offensive drills as soon as possible, and slowly refine his arm. In order to do this, the best thing for him would be to work with QB Brian Hoyer. Hoyer is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league. He started off as the backup in New England for a number of years, where he was severely underutilized under the great Tom Brady. After this, he went to Pittsburgh where he started a few games while Big Ben was injured, but still wasn’t given a great chance. Last season, Hoyer was on a roll with the Browns and would have likely taken them to the playoffs; however, he was set back by an injury. Despite this, he is a very safe quarterback, and his playing style would make him a great mentor for Manziel.
Regardless of the hype surrounding Manziel, he will not be ready to be an NFL starter in the next two years. During this time, he needs to learn how to play in the pocket and how to accurately target wide receivers. Right now, he has been criticized for not having a great knowledge of routes and according to many players on his college team; he barely had 60% of the playbook memorized. This is unacceptable for an NFL level player. The coaching staff in Cleveland needs to ensure that he is taking his job seriously, and he is fully committed to the team. He needs to spend a good year understanding his pass protection and another few months learning the Cleveland system through Brian Hoyer. If he is able to do this, he has a great shot of being a starter eventually.
Thank you for reading. Ron Leyba is the lead editor of Fantasy Football Overdose, and a LastWordOnSports Analyst. For more of his NFL articles, follow his updates at NFL Fantasy Football Rankings Facebook or follow him on twitter @ronniedare. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
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