With 10 days to go before the first round of the NFL draft, we’ve reached that point where rumors are running rampant but no one really knows which teams will draft which players. When we hear a juicy rumor, we’ll do our best to assess its merits.
The rumor that the Eagles want to draft quarterback Johnny Manziel apparently has no merits.
Peter King of TheMMQB.com passes along the rumor today, saying he heard it from a smart and reliable source. But King adds that someone who knows better than that source tells him it absolutely won’t happen.
It’s easy to believe that Eagles coach Chip Kelly is intrigued by Manziel. Kelly recruited Manziel to Oregon, and Manziel initially committed to play for Kelly before changing his mind and committing to Texas A&M. Recounting his recruiting later, Manziel said, “Coach Kelly said I was perfect for their system.”
But Kelly has a good quarterback in Nick Foles, who showed last year that he can put up excellent numbers in Kelly’s offense. Foles is the Eagles’ starter and Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley are in place as the backups, and it would be a surprise if the Eagles use any pick on any quarterback in this draft. A first-round pick on Johnny Manziel? That rumor is too good to be true.