ClutchPoints
The Kansas City Chiefs have a long history of doing well in the NFL Draft. The offensive talent the team brought in helped head coach Andy Reid build a dynasty. However, even Reid was caught up in the Johnny Maziel hype in 2014. Drafting him would have taken him away from the Cleveland Browns and might have stopped Kansas City from drafting Patrick Mahomes.
Manziel entered the 2014 NFL Draft with as much hype as anyone. The former Heisman winner was a dual-threat quarterback with tantalizing talent. Manziel’s off-field issues scared some teams away, but Reid wasn’t one of them. The former Browns quarterback spoke about his relationship with Reid on The Rich Eisen Show.
“The really interesting thing was going into the draft., we felt like our floor was 23,” Manziel said. “Even though we didn’t have any meetings with the Kansas City Chiefs, I think Andy Reid really liked me and that’s where I would’ve gone had the Browns not traded up on spot ahead.”
Reid and the Chiefs were sitting pretty near the end of the first round in the 2014 draft. However, Manziel never made it to them. Cleveland pulled off a trade to leapfrog Kansas City and picked the quarterback. Reid and the Chiefs had to pivot, selecting defensive lineman Dee Ford instead.
More than a decade later, it is clear that the Browns helped Reid and his team dodge a bullet. Manziel lasted just two years in the NFL, making only eight starts in Cleveland.
Kansas City, on the other hand, rode with Alex Smith at quarterback for three more seasons. In 2017, the Chiefs picked Mahomes with the tenth pick. After sitting for a season behind Smith, the superstar took off on one of the best starts to a career the NFL has ever seen.
Manziel is a perfect example of college talent not translating cleanly into the NFL. However, he and Reid would have been partners if not for one trade that is still affecting the league.
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