The saga of Johnny Manziel is well documented. Early in his career, everything seemed to come easy for Manziel. In the first four games of his college career, Manziel threw 10 TD with 0 INT and completed 70% of his passes. In his tenth game, he led the Texas A&M Aggies into Bryant-Denny Stadium and came out with a win against the number one ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. He capped off his first year of playing at the college level by winning the Davey O’Brien award and the Heisman Trophy.
After his red-shirt sophomore season, Manziel made the decision to go pro. As the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Manziel was drafted by the Cleveland Browns.
People mature at different rates and at the age of 20 there is no question that Manziel was not ready for the NFL. He failed to beat out Brian Hoyer for the starting job and went on to play in five games completing just 50% of his passes with 0 TD and 2 INT.
The college game came easy to Johnny Manziel and he never had to put in the time that many of the great quarterbacks do in order to get to that next level. 2014 was a lesson in humility for Manziel.
If 2014 was a lesson in humility for Manziel, 2015 has so far been a year of maturity. Earlier this off-season, Manziel checked himself into rehab. This was the first step of Manziel showing that he’s not only serious about being a football player but that he’s serious about being an adult.
Now that Manziel seems to have turned the corner on maturity, can he turn the corner on his professional football career? 2014 should be completely thrown out, other than being used as a life lesson. That means that Manziel is starting from square one in 2015. This is his rookie season. With three years left on his contract that pays him over $8 million for four years, that’s not what Browns fans want to hear but it’s what they need to accept.
Johnny Manziel can become an NFL caliber QB but he has to put in the time. He has to re-learn what it means to have work ethic. He has to learn how to read NFL defenses. He has to keep a certain amount of his moxie that made him who he is. He has to earn the trust of his teammates and develop an on-field rapport with them.
After the 2015 season, Johnny Manziel should not be judged as a success or a failure. This year needs to be looked at as a re-birth of sorts for Manziel. 2016 will be the year that we will learn if he has what it takes to be a NFL quarterback.
