Johnny Manziel, for many budding athletes, has become a cautionary tale of how to squander immense potential. The former freshman Heisman winner at Texas A&M entered the NFL with huge hype, but he never lived up to it. This was largely because he didn’t do the essential behind-the-scenes work, like watching film or studying the playbook, which showed on gameday.
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Let’s not forget that Manziel was selected 22nd overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2014. And the weight of the hype was unreal, which is why he’s often considered the biggest bust of his draft class. But he pushes back against this narrative, claiming there was an even bigger bust taken in the top 10 picks.
Not only that, Manziel says that the bust was taken by the same team that selected him.
“In my draft class, the Browns had 2 picks. With the sixth pick, we took Justin Gilbert from Oklahoma State. And I get the most wave of sh*t for being a bust and this and that,” Manziel started on the Glory Daze Podcast.
Gilbert was an outstanding cornerback at Oklahoma State. In his senior season, he led his conference in interceptions and pick-sixes. The Browns selected him 8th overall in Manziel’s draft, but he rarely gets mentioned. Well, Manziel decided to throw a few stray shots on his latest podcast to defend his own honor.
“I wasn’t even the biggest f***ing, and [with] respect to Justin Gilbert, I love him as a human being, but we both flamed out. We both f***ing struggled, and he went 14, 15, 16 picks before me. So, like, I’m not even the biggest bust in my class from the Browns,” Manziel continued.
Who had Manziel throwing a former teammate under the bus to make his career look better on their bingo card today? We certainly didn’t. But honestly, it’s just typical Johnny Football behavior.
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Maybe Gilbert was a bigger bust, considering where he was drafted by the Browns. But he wasn’t a quarterback, and he certainly wasn’t a player with Manziel’s perceived skill set and hype. Because of these factors, Manziel is naturally going to receive more criticism for not coming through at the NFL level.
Furthermore, it was the way Manziel flamed out that was despicable. He straight up didn’t watch film or study the playbook during his free time. Plus, the off-field controversies and substance abuse issues persisted. Despite having an amazing athletic frame to work with, Manziel threw it all away because he lacked work ethic and maturity.
At the end of their careers, Gilbert and Manziel both had a weighted approximate value of 4. But when you compare where they were drafted, Manziel’s stays at 4, while Gilbert’s drops to 3. So, technically, Johnny Football is correct. They were both bad at the end of the day. Yet, if he wasn’t the biggest bust of his class, Manziel was certainly a close second.
