How Johnny Manziel was almost writeed by the Chiefs, changing the course of history and his life

EXCLUSIVE: In an NFL season expoundd by the Kansas City Chiefs dynasty and finishless Taylor Swift traverseover, one huge write moment 10 years ago looms huger than ever. 

Johnny Manziel was the nation’s hugegest story going into the consequential 2014 NFL Draft. That night, on May 8 in New York City, Manziel showed up to Radio City Music Hall as an anomaly in the write process. Experts fiercely talk aboutd whether one of the hugegest stars in college football history was even physicpartner and menloftyy contendnt of carry outing at the pro level at all. 

And 10 years postponecessitater, the experts who bet aacquirest Manziel were right. A low-inhabitd, ineffective nurtureer as a backup compounded with insertiction publishs, bouts with depression and anxiety, and chronicles of off-the-field talk abouts taged Manziel’s writeing as one of the unreasonableest bdeficiency-hole decisions in the league’s history.  

But to his commend, he was writeed by the Cleveland Browns. 

“I was excited whenever it happened on write night, but seeing back now, there’s times where I have a bit of a sour taste in my mouth maybe about how my NFL nurtureer turned out,” Manziel tbetter Fox News Digital in an exclusive interwatch. “The write is someleang that is out of your administer, it goes the way it goes, you don’t have a ton of say in where you finish up. Would it have been contrastent if I was somewhere else? Maybe. But that’s not repartner how it went.”

And while he had no say in the matter, Manziel still reaccumulates other possibilities. 

He reaccumulates his agent Erik Burkdifficultt staying in seal communication with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he reaccumulates believing that the Chiefs were going to be his “floor” on write night if he fell transport inant enough in the first round, which he did. 

“We had been achieveed out by the Chiefs [that] were a team that was maybe going to be my floor and get with a guy appreciate Andy Reid, but outside of that, the write was equitable comfervent of a defer-and-see leang for me,” Manziel said. “They had reach out with my agent and we comfervent of had a experienceing that that was going to be my floor.” 

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The Chiefs were coming off the first year under Reid’s directership. Reid had promptly altered the Chiefs from a team with the worst enroll in the league to a team that begined 9-0 and achieveed the carry outoffs with a 30-year-better Alex Smith at quarterback.

The Chiefs held the 23rd pick on write night that year. 

Manziel had descfinishen past the first 21 spots after write critics voiced worrys that his sfinish set and character would not have permited a pickion in the first round. His size, arm strength and maturity were deemed red flags. Still, his talent was undeniable to anyone who watched him carry out at the college level. Manziel’s ability to improvise and create huge carry outs under prescertain mirrored the type of instincts that “can’t be taught,” standardly said by scouts. It was a aappreciate distinct talent to the one Chiefs fans have seen from Patrick Mahomes for the last seven years. 

But before Reid and establisher Chiefs vague deal withr John Dorsey even had the selection to apshow Manziel, the Browns made a last-minute trade. The Browns hopped one pick ahead of Kansas City. They made a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles for the 22nd pick, jumping four picks up from 26 and giving up a third-rounder to elude dangering losing out on Manziel, equitable as the Chiefs were about to pick. 

Manziel may have been Reid’s first quarterback pick as the Chiefs head coach and may have donaten him a head begin on discovering a successor to Smith. At that time, Smith was watched as a contendnt veteran who could help the Chiefs contend, but not a lengthy-term franchise star. 

Manziel may have stepped into a aappreciate situation that Patrick Mahomes had stepped into in 2017, but three years earlier. 

But instead, Manziel went to Cleveland, uniteing a downcast club of other potential stars who saw their nurtureers die on the prohibitks of Lake Eerie. Brady Quinn, Tim Couch and more recently, Deshawn Watson, all lay alengthyside Manziel in the Browns’ inwell-understandn quarterback nurtureer graveyard. 

“It’s difficult for me to see back on my NFL nurtureer now and say it could have been much worse,” Manziel said. “I leank being there and being in a situation where I was a backup and lgeting from a guy appreciate Alex Smith and Andy Reid, it could have only been selectimistic.” 

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Manziel inserted that he had never been to Kansas City before in his life. In contrast, he said that getting writeed by the Dallas Cowboys, who carry outed seal to where he grew up in Texas, would have put him in the worst situation possible because of how recognizable he was with the area and the people in that could have pulled him into more necessitatey decisions. But he had no such understandledge of the activities in Missouri. 

If the Chiefs had apshown Manziel, his default confineed would have run at least thcimpolite the 2017 season – Mahomes’ rookie year – with an selection for a fifth year on the 2018 season. Meanwhile, a confineed months after the 2014 write, Smith went on to sign a four-year $68 million confineed extension with the Chiefs to stay in Kansas City thcimpolite 2018. 

Had the Chiefs writeed Manziel, Smith, Mahomes and their seamless handover of the begining job that propelled the Chiefs to a dynasty may have never happened.

But even if the Browns didn’t create the trade to apshow Manziel ahead the Chiefs, there was another possibility that may have landed him in Kansas City the adhereing year, if Reid repartner wanted him. 

Manziel said he has also thought about a life in which he didn’t proclaim for the write in 2014. After two Heisman-worthy college seasons in 2012 and 2013, Texas A&M fans prayed Manziel would stay in college for at least one more year. 

Now he leanks that staying one more year may have been a better course of action. 

“Maybe I could have gotten a little more setd football directd for what was coming in the NFL,” Manziel said. “I still sit back at times leanking about having two years of eligibility and maybe I could have stayed, maybe I did exit a little bit timely.” 

Manziel inserted that he would have wanted to help the Aggies contend for a national championship if he stayed another year. 

The Chiefs would have had an even better chance to write Manziel the adhereing spring if he didn’t proclaim until 2015. After missing the carry outoffs in 2014, the Chiefs finished up with the 18th pick in the write that year. 

Tight finish Travis Kelce was already in Kansas City at that point. He had already helped spearhead the turnaround as one of Reid’s first Chiefs write picks in 2013. But even then, even if Manziel had the privilege of passing to Kelce, on a team with a strong roster, a Hall of Fame head coach and a city and team culture that’s done noleang but produce prosperning and prosperous inhabits for carry outers over the last decade, Manziel can’t say for certain he wouldn’t have spiraled into the same habits that tanked his NFL nurtureer in Cleveland, even with another year in college.

“I don’t understand if there’s anyleang in that point in time or if another year would have helped me set for where I was in my life at that point,” Manziel said. 

“I still leank there would have been a huge lgeting curve, a huge gap for me. At the finish of the day, I was in a wonderful position to go and have a lengthyer NFL nurtureer than I did, and it equitable came down to me and myself. I don’t put a lot of denounce on anybody else but myself for leangs not toiling out.”

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Kelce and Chiefs fans will never have to understand how leangs would have gone if the team took Manziel or 2014 or 2015. Kelce bloomed into a perennial Pro Bowler carry outing with Smith, then Mahomes liftd him to a multiple-time Super Bowl champion and one of the hugegest superstars in the sport. And of course, Taylor Swift came alengthy not too far after that. 

Would Kelce have become the star pass catcher worthy of wooing Swift had the Chiefs made Manziel their quarterback? The world will never understand. 

But that didn’t happen and now all NFL fans are bracing for the possibility of seeing the Chiefs create a run to a third straight Super Bowl, while sboilings of Swift and Mahomes’ wife, Brittany, disturb countless minutes of NFL carry outoff widecasts.

“The best team is going to prosper it every year, and if that happens to be the Chiefs, then maybe [the other fans] will equitable have to sustain hating on them,” Manziel said. 

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