2014 NFL Draft: Johnny Manziel Not Throwing At Combine, Dares The Houston Texans To Not Draft Him

NFL Combine

Last night, Johnny Manziel's agent tweeted this:

.@JManziel2 will do all of his throwing at his March 27th Pro Day & private workouts. Teams will have all the time & access they want.

— Erik Burkhardt (@ErikBurkhardt) February 15, 2014

A.J. McCarron, Derek Carr and Blake Bortles have also expressed concerns about throwing at the Combine, since it would be with receivers that they are unfamiliar with, and they won't have time to practice with them.

NFL Media analyst and former Texans' general manager Charley Casserly weighed in on this:

"Here's what the agents tell them: You're not going to be throwing to your receivers, you're not going to have time to practice with them, so you may not look good as far as your accuracy goes," Casserly said. "Well, that's true. But guess what -- I never cared about that. You've got to give scouts and coaches and general managers a little credit for a little intelligence, don't you? We know you're not throwing to your receivers. What you want to see in a quarterback is see him throw live. See the arm strength, quickness and release."

Casserly also offered this feedback from recent film reviews:

On Manziel:

"Pocket discipline. When you watch tape on this guy, there are times I'm not sure what this guy sees. You've got guys wide open and, boom, he takes off and runs," Casserly said. "He may be a victim of his (own) ability to make plays running the football, so he doesn't stay in the pocket. I'd want to watch tape with him, what are you seeing, why are you running when you don't have to run?"

On Bortles:

"This guy might be No. 1 when it is all said and done because he's a big strong-armed guy. When you watch the tape, in every single game I watched, he'll make some throws you can't explain, as far as making bad decisions. ... (Also) you'd like him to be a little more consistent on the accuracy to be the top pick."

On Bridgewater:

"Everybody talks about (Bridgewater's) body build, being a lean guy, they worry about his durability. What is his strength and size potential? (That's) something we want to look at. The other thing is vocal leadership. You want to get a good handle on that at the combine and in the spring."

On McCarron:

"Very productive quarterback, smart guy, but what I want to see (is) arm strength. I want to see this arm live. I just want to see at what level it's not strong. ... Is this guy Andy Dalton? I'm trying to make a positive out of that, but Dalton has his deficiencies, and one of them is accuracy, deep especially. Is he Andy Dalton, or is he a lesser Andy Dalton? That's my question on him."

Casserly wasn't well respected here as the general manager of the Texans, and his analysis on players can sometimes be way off, yet he seems to be hitting on the same points as many other analysts with these comments on these top draft eligible quarterbacks.

"Lone Dorito"

Manziel has been mostly quiet in preparing for the NFL Draft, but broke his silence Friday with a challenge to the Houston Texans:

"I want them to say absolutely, without a doubt, with 100 percent certainty, that I'm who they want," Manziel said. "I want everybody from the janitor at Reliant Stadium to the front office executive assistant all the way up to (owner) Bob McNair to say, 'This kid is 100 percent, can't miss. This is who we want being the face of our program. We want the Texas kid staying in Texas and leading the Texans.'"

In this interview, Manziel says he would love to win a Super Bowl with the Texans:

"They're a team I've watched every year since I was a kid," he says. "I want to be the No. 1 pick. It's something I've dreamed about. With the pieces they already have in place, I could fit in.  I'm a Texas kid. The state means a lot to me."

If the Texans should go in another direction with the first overall pick in this upcoming draft, and the quarterback needy Jaguars snatch him with the third overall pick, Manziel had this to say:

"It would be the worst decision they've [Texans] ever made," Manziel says later to reporters from the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram who are watching his workouts.  "I'd be in the same division playing against them twice a year. Sorry, but you just turned that chip on my shoulder from a Frito into a Dorito."

Johnny also chimed in about the possibility of ending up in Cleveland, since the Browns (at least under their previous regime a week ago) have been rumored to be willing to trade up in the draft in order to get him if need be:

"If something happens, and it's the Cleveland Browns, I'm going to pour my heart out for the Dawg Pound and try to win a Super Bowl for Cleveland," Manziel says. "I don't care if they've had 20 starting quarterbacks since 1999. I'm going to be the 21st and the guy that brought them the Super Bowl."

There you have it, folks.  Manziel has thrown down the Dorito and dared the Texans not to pick him first overall.  We'll have to wait until March 27th to see him throw for scouts and NFL coaches.  Meanwhile, they can continue to analyze his game film or spy on him on a beach in San Diego.

Share your thoughts below, and enjoy this wonderful Saturday.