Should the Dallas Cowboys Have Drafted Johnny Manziel Or Stayed True To Tony Romo?

There Texas A&M quarterback, Johnny Manziel sat, looking like a sad child his mother forgot to pick up from school, still undrafted by pick 16 of the NFL Draft. In possession of the 16th pick were the Dallas Cowboys, and millions of people were dying to know, would Jerry Jones and the Cowboys stay true to current quarterback, Tony Romo and pass on Manziel, or would they pick Romo’s future replacement, putting the writing clearly on the wall?

Watching the Cowboys’ 10-minute time clock count down was excruciating. Not only for Manziel who had already been passed up by Jacksonville, Cleveland (the first time), Oakland, Minnesota, but surely for Romo as well.

There had been speculation and opinions that if Manziel was still available come the Cowboys 16th pick, it could make sense for the team to select this popular quarterback to prepare for the post-Romo era. Plus, Romo is the ripe old age of 34, and has been having some ongoing back issues and just had a minor lower back surgery for which he is recovering from now.

Then there’s the flipside of those who didn’t agree that the Cowboys should consider Manziel. Some people even spoke with extreme distaste and passion against Manziel.

Even Jerry Jones has seemed to totally scuff at the idea that the team would draft Manziel, as Romo is “their ticket”. However, this could have just been smoke and mirrors all along. And, why should we trust Jones?

Well, at the end of the day, it would appear that Jones was not lying, or he flipped a coin, or he’s just so old, he’s lucky he can find matching shoes, so he let his staff make the call. Nevertheless, the Cowboys drafted with their 16th overall pick, Zack Martin, offensive tackle out of Notre Dame to enhance Romo’s protection. I say thumbs up to Dallas on picking defense and not caving to they hype of Manziel.

This is not to say the Dallas won’t draft a less popular quarterback in the later draft rounds which continue today. But what is clear is that the Cowboys did not have any interest in Manziel, who also got his head messed with by the Browns who passed him up at pick four, then finally chose him as pick 22.

Insert rich people applause.

Photo: Tony Romo