Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said some “flags” came up during the team’s second meeting with Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel on Friday.
The Vikings attended Manziel’s pro day on Thursday and held a private workout and dinner with the quarterback, according to the Star Tribune.
“We asked him all kinds of questions,” Zimmer told 104.9 The Horn in Austin, Texas, on Monday. “All of the things that happened out in Los Angeles, the commercials and all that stuff.”
Pro Football Talk reports Zimmer said he was trying to clear up “question marks” he had about whether Manziel was going to do what it takes to be a great player or if he wanted to be “the celebrity man guy.”
The Vikings have the eighth overall pick in the draft. The team has a need at quarterback and Manziel may be available when the Vikings select, so the Vikings have been doing their research. Minnesota has been considered by many to be a possible destination for Manziel.
“That’s the thing you want to know about him: Will he be into work early every single day? Will he be the last to leave? Will he be the guy that is working the hardest to get better?” asked Zimmer.
Zimmer told the Houston Chronicle following the event he wasn’t impressed with the sideshow event of Manziel’s pro day.
Manziel opted to wear shoulder pads and a helmet and blasted Drake through the speakers in front of NFL executives and others including former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, former First Lady Barbara Bush.
According to NFL.com, evaluations of Manziel in the weeks leading up to the draft will likely focus heavily on what’s between his ears, not on his throwing arm. The report says Zimmer’s remarks are right in line with what he said prior to Manziel’s pro day, but are also in line with what a coach fearing he might not get the chance to draft Manziel could say to keep the narrative about his drawbacks alive.
Following his pro day workout, Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner called Manziel a complete player and raved about his accuracy.
The NFL Draft is May 8.
