Johnny Manziel changed his mind on ‘absolute disaster’ Dallas Cowboys near miss

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It is approaching 10 years since the 2014 NFL Draft, when the Dallas Cowboys were tipped by many to take Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Johnny Manziel, ‘Johnny Football’, was the most talked about football player in America in 2014, before he had even played a NFL snap.

The controversial and mesmerizingly talented college quarterback split opinion heading into the draft, and was not picked in the top 10.

At that time the Dallas Cowboys were approaching the end of the Tony Romo era, two years before Dak Prescott was drafted, and owner Jerry Jones was being hotly tipped to make a splash and take the highly touted Texas kid.

Jones resisted the temptation and took guard Zack Martin instead. It was not the glamourous pick, but it was the right one, with the selection proving a smart one a decade on, with Martin still a Cowboy.

Manziel meanwhile was drafted by Cleveland, and flamed out of the league within two years, and is now retired.

While Dallas have not had any success in the decade since, Manziel does not feel bitter about missing out – and is actually thankful.

Johnny Manziel wanted Dallas

Johnny Manziel conducted an interview with Shannon Sharpe where the topic of the Dallas Cowboys came up.

Manziel talked about his admiration for Jerry Jones, and his desire to stay in Texas.

He explained when Dallas had their pick, he was pleading that his name would be called.

He said: “The 16th pick of that draft was Dallas. I remember the anticipation in Radio City when that pick was coming up and I had my fingers crossed under that table the entire time.

“Please, let me go put that star on my helmet.”

Now, Manziel is relieved

Manziel has had serious off-field issues which contributed to a lack of focus in his NFL career, and he believes the spotlight and pressure in Dallas would have intensified his problems to the point where he might not even have survived.

He explained: “Looking back now, thank God that didn’t happen, because I wouldn’t be sitting here today.

“I know who I was hanging around at that point in my life. And I think it would have been just an absolute disaster.”

Asked to elaborate, he said: “It could have been drinking, driving. It could have been taking the bag from somebody you shouldn’t take it from. It just could have been over in an instant.

“So I think I know myself well enough to be able to say, that it would have been bad. And luckily thankfully, it didn’t happen.

“Even though at that time, it was what I wanted.”

There are two sides to the debate, because with the leadership and guidance of the Cowboys organisation and home comforts of Texas, Manziel could have ended up thriving, rather than feeling lost in Cleveland.

Either way, he seems at peace with it, and his owning his past mistakes with no bitterness.