After watching his team's mediocre quarterback situation lead them to a 4-12 record, Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie shared his high praise of Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, who plans on entering the NFL Draft this year, leading many to speculate that if given the chance the Raiders may draft him.
"He's a playmaker," McKenzie told SFGate.com. "Whether it's him or one of these other guys, when you can add a playmaker, that's what you shoot for."
The Raiders have the No.5 overall pick and Manziel could conceivably be off the grid by then, but still the GM's words reflect the fact that the team is looking to upgrade at the position at the draft.
NFL.com mock drafts back up the fact that Manziel likely won't be around by the time the Raiders get to make their selection with the fifth overall pick, so while it's doubtful that the Raiders end up with Manziel, they may be looking for "one of these other guys," who McKenzie described as dynamic.
The Raiders could end up with such quarterbacks as Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater or Blake Bortles from UCF while Manziel could end up with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have the third pick or the Cleveland Browns with the fourth selection.
The Raiders do have financial flexibility, and could put together some sort of package of draft picks to move up in the draft and select Manziel by trading up at the draft and improving the team elsewhere through free agency.
McKenzie told NFL.com that if he does draft a quarterback, he'd like the signal caller to sit out his rookie season and develop around some of the veteran quarterbacks as a learning experience. The Raiders switched time between Matt McGloin and Terrelle Pryor this past season, and one of them could take Manziel under their wing if he is drafted.
In his sophomore season with Texas A&M in 2013, Manziel went 300-for-429 (69.9%) for 4,114 yards with 37 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while rushing for 759 yards on 144 attempts while reaching the end zone nine times.
His dynamic freshman and sophomore seasons are exactly why the former Heisman Trophy winner will be drafted high in this year's NFL Draft.
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