Rams Interest In Johnny Manziel: Legitimate, Imaginary, or Smokescreen

Dec 31, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) carries the ball against the Duke Blue Devils during the second quarter in the 2013 Chick-fil-a Bowl at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

It seems like every time Johnny “Football” Manziel and Texas A&M has a workout, Rams general Les Snead is right there watching. In fact the Rams worked out Manziel earlier Friday.

With the mystery of Sam Bradford, and the uncertainty at the quarterback position, taking Manziel to give Bradford some competition and give him the chance to start might make sense for some Bradford doubters. You have to wonder if the interest is legitimate, imaginary, or just a smoke screen to get a team to trade up.

Real

As mentioned earlier, there is uncertainty at the quarterback position for the Rams with Sam Bradford at the helm. Can Bradford still be the guy? Can he take this team to the playoffs? Those are some of the questions Fisher and Snead need to figure out and questions that Sam Bradford needs to answer.

Everybody knows that Manziel is one of the most exciting players in the draft. What this guy can do with the ball in his hands is incredible and at some points, just flat out unbelievable. Les Snead would be blind if Manziel didn’t at least intrigue him to some extent.

The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks have done well with mobile quarterbacks, and they say if you can’t beat ’em, might as well play like ’em. Adding a mobile quarterback like Manziel would give the 49ers and Seahawks just one more thing to think about.

Jeff Fisher has also had a lot of success with a mobile quarterback when he took Steve McNair with the third overall pick in 1995, and then even though their relationship wasn’t all that great, he is the only coach to have success with Vince Young.

Imaginary

The Rams also have a lot of interest in other Texas A&M stars Jake Matthews and Mike Evans. The Rams have a small need at offensive tackle and a need at wide receiver, and Matthews and Evans are two of the best at their position in this draft.

This may be one of those scenarios in which the media is just trying to create a headline with one of the biggest names in sports in order to draw attention.

Not to mention Les Snead and Jeff Fisher have said time and time again that Sam Bradford is their guy, and have said that they won’t be taking a receiver early, and if they do draft one it will be on day two or three.

Smoke Screen

The art of the smoke screen. Find a hot prospect, show the world your interested in them, and wait for the results. Johnny Manziel is a hot prospect that could pick up some interest, Les Snead has shown the world he’s interested in him by working him out and attending his pro day, now the Rams just have to wait for the results.

The Rams have voiced interest in Watkins and Mack, and have also voiced interest in trading down. Getting a quarterback needy team to think that they are interested in Manziel is exactly what the Rams want.

With ESPN and NFL.com saying that they are interested in Manziel, Snead could not be happier.

Conclusion

My guess is that all this interest in Manziel is a mixture between imaginary and a smoke screen. The key here is that the Rams have voiced confidence over and over in Sam Bradford.

“As we’ve said, Sam’s our starting QB,” Snead said then. “And maybe that’s way too out of the box to take a QB that high.”

The Rams have also said that they want to trade back and creating interest for a top player will pick up interest for their number two pick and increase the chance that they are able to trade back.

The 2014 NFL Draft is less than a week away and unfortunately, this is only the beginning of the pre-draft rumors.