The New England Patriots took a long look at some of the top quarterbacks in the 2014 draft. Regarding Johnny Manziel, they reportedly didn’t like what they saw very much.
BroBible.com claims that it has obtained the Patriots’ scouting report on Manziel, and the entire thing has been posted online.
It looks legitimate, and it expresses various worries about Manziel’s off-field habits, including a somewhat bizarre reference to “outlaw bloodlines.” The report also describes Manziel as a “spoiled brat” who gets an allowance from his grandfather and whose father bought him a luxury car.
From a football standpoint, Texas Tech sources told the Patriots that coaches “can’t yell/scream at him or he shuts down; has walked away from [former Texas A&M offensive coordinator Kliff] Kingsbury in the past,” and that Manziel doesn’t study the game.
If the report is legitimate (and if it’s counterfeit it’s an excellent job), the question becomes how it surfaced. It reportedly came from “an anonymous tipster, who is close to BroBible family,” a description that seems to be a bit inconsistent.
Within the NFL, speculation (and to be clear, it’s just speculation) has arisen that the leaking of the scouting report bears in some way, shape, or form the fingerprints of former Browns G.M. Mike Lombardi, who was fired by Cleveland and hired by New England. Lombardi’s motivation, if the speculation is accurate, would be to make the Browns look bad for taking Manziel.
It’s an obvious starting point for the Patriots and/or the NFL if/when this is investigated. It’s so obvious that we have a hard time believing Lombardi had anything to do with it.
The far better theory would be that someone within the Patriots organization who doesn’t like Lombardi leaked it simply to create a hassle for Lombardi, which this situation undoubtedly will.