The biggest day of the week in the NFL has arrived as Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel will soon be throwing 50-60 scripted passes at his Pro Day in front of hundreds of scouts, coaches and NFL front office personnel.
NFL Network will provide live coverage of Manziel’s workout for 90 minutes beginning at 10:30 a.m. It will also be available to watch on ESPN.com.
Among the hundreds will be Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, offensive coordinator Norv Turner and general manager Rick Spielman. The trio has also spent time at the pro days or private workouts of Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater, Central Florida’s Blake Bortles, Fresno State’s Derek Carr and San Jose State’s David Fales.
Also attending the event will be former President George W. Bush, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The guy they called Johnny Football is a pretty big deal, apparently.
NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah will be watching to see Manziel’s footwork, anticipation, ability to drive the football, movement inside the pocket and interaction with his teammates.
How Manziel interacts with his teammates will presumably be high on Zimmer’s list, too. He told ESPN earlier this week that his opinion of Manziel is going to come down to what kind of leader and teammate he is. He added to his thoughts on Manziel in an interview with USA Today.
“I want to talk to the custodian. I want to talk to his teammates. I want to talk to his landlord. I want to find out those things,” Zimmer said Wednesday. “We’ll know what kind of football player he is by the end of the day and how he does with all that other stuff, but it’s all the other intangible things.”
If Manziel is on the board when the Vikings go on-the-clock with the No. 8 pick in the May NFL Draft, taking him will be a “leap of faith,” according to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King.
Remember this today: Manziel must show he doesn't leave pocket at 1st sign of trouble. Must show he can make tough throws against pressure.
— Peter King (@peter_king) March 27, 2014
He can do neither today. Whoever takes Manziel May 8 (or 9) will be taking a leap of faith that he can be a somewhat different player in NFL
— Peter King (@peter_king) March 27, 2014
King is undoubtedly referencing the fact that Manziel played a loose, free-style form of football in college. At less than six-feet tall, there are a lot of questions about Manziel’s game translating to the NFL.
“There are a lot of quarterbacks, but not a lot who succeed with his stature,” Zimmer noted in his interview with USA Today. “You’re going against the odds a little bit with a guy like that, but the game has changed so much now, and the offense in the NFL is a lot more like college football, spread out and opened up, so I believe he’ll have a career.”
Want to get to know Manziel a little better? Here’s a snippet of Manziel’s time with Jon Gruden on ESPN’s “Gruden’s QB Camp.”
