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After two legendary years at Texas A&M, Johnny Manziel was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. At the time, Manziel wanted the Dallas Cowboys to draft him as he dreamt of playing for them.
However, in a recent conversation with Shannon Sharpe, the Heisman-winning quarterback claimed that he is happy he didn't get drafted by the Cowboys. Manziel hinted that had he played for the Cowboys, he would have gotten in big trouble and might have lost his life.
Manziel said:
"I love Jerry, and I love getting a chance to go to sporting events in that stadium…. The 16th pick of that draft was Dallas and I remember the anticipation when that pick was coming up. I had my fingers crossed under that table the entire time ‘Please let me go put that star on my helmet’, looking back now, thank god that it didn't happen because I wouldn't be sitting here today."
Johnny Manziel mentioned that given how well he knew the areas surrounding Dallas and the connections he had, it could have made his life quite difficult. He added:
"I think knowing what I was doing in Cleveland, how hard it was for me to party and move and do these kinds of things, if you would have put me in a landscape of that was my backyard that I knew, you know I had been driving from College Station up to Dallas when was nothing going on in College Station.
"So, it was something I was familiar with, I know who I was hanging around at that point in my life and I think it would have been just an absolute disaster to the point that it wouldn't have been suicide that that would have been the issue, it would have been drinking and driving.
"It would have been taking a bag from somebody you shouldn't take it from and just boom could have been over in an instant. So, I think I know myself well enough to be able to say that it would have been bad, and thankfully you know it didn't happen even though at that time it was what I wanted.”
Instead of Manziel, the Dallas Cowboys drafted Zack Martin with the 16th overall pick. The Notre Dame product is a future Hall of Famer, and Jerry Jones struck the gold in that draft.
Johnny Manziel played only two seasons in the NFL
Johnny Manziel is arguably the biggest superstar that college football has ever seen. In two years at Texas A&M, he threw for 7820 yards, 63 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions in 26 games. He also rushed for 2169 yards and 30 touchdowns on 345 carries.
However, his career in the NFL didn't pan out like he would have hoped for. Manziel played just 14 games in his NFL career and was released by the Cleveland Browns in 2015 after just two seasons. Manziel threw for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions with a passing rating of just 74.4.
In the conversation with Shannon Sharpe, Johnny Manziel mentioned that he didn't love the game of football anymore which is why things turned out the way they did.
Also Read: What happened to Johnny Manziel? What is he doing now?
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Club Shay Shay podcast and H/T Sportskeeda.
