A brutally honest confession regarding the Cowboys and the 2014 NFL Draft is made by Johnny Manziel.
Johnny Manziel and the Dallas Cowboys.
One of the biggest what-ifs in franchise history, man, oh man. The Cowboys being on the clock at that historic 2014 NFL Draft moment is still fresh in my memory. At the time, we were unaware that Stephen Jones had shoved Jerry Jones against the War Rom’s wall and taken his draft card from him in order to prevent Manziel from reaching Dallas.
I swear to God that I saw Roger Goodell stifle a smirk for a few seconds before announcing Zack Martin’s name. Like millions of NFL fans, Goodell undoubtedly wondered if the Cowboys would pull the trigger. Jerry couldn’t possibly pass up such a big splash. He was presumably enamored with the kid’s skill and the fact that he was already a legend in Texas football. It seems that Manziel also had feelings for him.
When Manziel was asked which team he wanted to be picked by, Shannon Sharpe of Club Shay Shay conducted an interview with him. Manziel answered quickly.
“Sure, Dallas,” Manziel said to Sharpe. “I cherished Jerry, and I treasured the opportunity to attend athletic events in that stadium and walk around with him.” I recall the excitement in Radio City when that choice was about to happen, and I had my fingers crossed beneath that table the entire time. I enjoyed getting the chance, as a college student at Texas A&M, to step inside that box and rub shoulders with the honcho, the person. Permit me to place that star on my helmet, please.
With a very honest confession, Manziel revealed why he thought it was best in retrospect—a lot more mature Manziel than we knew at the time.
“Looking back now, thank God that it didn’t happen because I wouldn’t be sitting here today,” Manziel said. “I believe that if you had placed me in a scene that was my backyard, which I knew because I had been driving from College Station up to Dallas when there was nothing going on in College Station, you would have realized how difficult it was for me to party, move, and do these kinds of things knowing what I was doing in Cleveland. Thus, it was a familiar subject to me.”
Manziel’s off-field problems have been extensively reported, including a 2023 documentary that disclosed he attended the Scouting Combine while intoxicated and watched no footage with the Cleveland Browns as a rookie.
