The NFL draft is quickly approaching, and teams everywhere are constantly scrutinizing on which player they think can either turn their franchise around or help continue their success.
Without a doubt, the most talked about player in the upcoming class is former Texas A&M quarterback, 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.
That, for the most part, is due to his style of play, but also has a lot to do with his near celebrity status.
Let me start by saying that I love mobile quarterbacks. They are an absolute blast to watch and a real treat for football fans who love offense.
Quarterbacks who can run like a wide receiver are the biggest of defensive headaches on a college football field, but that doesn't mean Nick Marshall is the next Peyton Manning.
I don't think Manziel is either.
To back this up, take a look at some of the recent running QBs who took a shot at the bigs.
When you think about running quarterbacks, you most likely immediately think of Michael Vick.
Vick was a trailblazer for mobile quarterbacks everywhere, and he certainly saw substantial success in Atlanta running around making defenses look incredibly confused before he went to jail.
Where is Vick now? He's riding the bench behind Nick Foles, who looks like he's the got the starting job in Philly locked up for a while.
Next, there's Vince Young.
In college, Young was the engineer of what was the greatest pre-2013 Iron Bowl college football game of all time, a 41-38 win over Reggie Bush and USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl for the BCS National Championship.
During his time at Texas, Young ran through defenses as if they weren't even there. NFL scouts salivated as they thought they had discovered the next Vick.
Like Vick, after he was drafted third overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2006 draft, Young saw some success, but it was limited.
Sure, he won some games and was even named to the Pro Bowl following his rookie season, but two years later, he suffered a season ending injury and watched from the sidelines as career-backup Kerry Collins led the Titans to a 13-3 record.
Young remained on the bench the following season and he was gone by 2010. He's out of the league now and probably won't be coming back anytime soon.
There's plenty of other examples, such as Tim Tebow of Florida and Matt Jones of Arkansas.
Of course there are success stories like Auburn's own Cam Newton, but Newton is a once-in-a-generation athlete.
I'm not saying for certain that Manziel won't pan out in the NFL. I'm just saying it's not likely.
One of my biggest reasons for my hesitance to be sold on Manziel is his tendency to throw a ball up for grabs.
There have been plenty of times where Manziel, in a scrambling situation, will just launch the ball into the air, hoping some Aggie will come down with it. You can't do that in the NFL; just ask Brett Favre, the league's career leader in interceptions.
As far as the character issue everyone loves to harp on so much, I don't see it as an issue.
If you really think about it, Manziel is doing the same sort of things any college student would do. He's just doing it on an exponentially larger budget.
I think Manziel can be a decent NFL player, but I don't see him as a top 10, or even first round pick.
If I'm an NFL general manager, I'd take Manziel in the third or fourth round. Put him on the Aaron Rogers system. Let him learn from your starter for a few years, and then when it's his time, he'll be ready.
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