E.J. Manuel's ability to perform in poor conditions impressed the Buffalo Bills enough to use their first round draft pick on the former Florida State quarterback during last Thursday's NFL draft. Bills head coach Doug Marrone revealed in an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio on Wednesday that Manuel impressed the team by throwing the ball well during an extremely windy thunderstorm at a private workout in Tallahassee, Fla.
Marrone said that Manuel's performance in the extreme conditions helped convince the Bills that the Florida State quarterback could handle the inclement weather in Buffalo, especially during the latter months of the NFL season.
"Going into it as far as what we were putting down, that was one of the things as far as criteria for playing up here," Marrone told Sirius XM. "I remember when I first got the job here in Buffalo, and I had been up here and played up here before, and I got out of the car in January and the wind -- I was like, 'Wow.' I never realized how windy it was that time of the year."
Manuel was the first quarterback selected in the 2013 NFL Draft, which was regarded as a surprise by many. Buffalo chose the former Seminole starter with the No. 16 overall pick after swapping the No. 8 selection with the St. Louis Rams.
The 6-foot-4 quarterback went 25-6 during his four years at Florida State. He also had the largest hands (10 3/8 inches) and longest arms (35 inches) of any quarterback at the NFL scouting combine.
Manuel became only the third quarterback Buffalo has ever selected in the first round and looks to fill a need that has plagued the Bills since Jim Kelly's retirement in 1996. He becomes the face of a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs in 13 seasons - the NFL's longest active drought.
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