In addition to the dissection of his personal life, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel knows that NFL executives will be monitoring the numbers when he’s in Indianapolis this week for the Scouting Combine.
“I’m going to measure 6 feet — I’m 72 inches on the dot,” Manziel said, via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. “If they want to try to jump on my shoulders and squish me down, it’s not going to be any less than that.”
That kind of measurement would have been a major question mark not that long ago, but the success of Russell Wilson has helped kill some of the short-ism that kept the Seahawks quarterback from being drafted until the third round.
Manziel gets that, and understands he owes Wilson if he goes first overall.
“I think he’s kicked the door wide open,” Manziel said of the Seahawks quarterback. “You’re seeing more guys being successful avoiding that first wave of pressure — get out and do things outside the pocket.
“Wilson does some things he’s not asked to do, when things don’t go exactly as scripted. He’s able to extend the play. One reason they were so successful early in the Super Bowl was that he was 4-of-5 on third down and was able to continue to push the ball down the field and get them where they needed to be.”
Manziel’s working on his skills in the pocket as well (the reason he’s hanging with San Diego-based quarterback tutor George Whitfield), but the fact he can make things happen outside the pocket will only help. Having Wilson establish that makes it easier still.