Hill: Why not Johnny Manziel to the Cowboys?

No one hates quarterbacks more than Jerry Jones


The owner of the Dallas Cowboys may understand the value of the quarterback position better than anybody, and in that he is absolutely is scared to death of them. A good quarterback is impossible to find. So rather than just keep picking them until he finds someone who can throw a ball and chew gum at the same time, no one runs from a quarterback any faster than Jerry Jones.

Since 2000, no team in the NFL has drafted fewer quarterbacks than the Dallas Cowboys - 2.
(The Cowboys' list the selection of University of Washington quarterback Isaiah Stanback in 2009 as a wide receiver in the media guide.)

Fewest QB's selected in the NFL draft since 2000:

Cowboys: 2
Jaguars: 3
Chiefs: 3
Titans: 3

*** Incredible fact: Since Jerry's first draft in 1989, the Cowboys have selected a total of five quarterbacks.

Since 2000, 23 teams have selected five or more quarterbacks.

Since 2000, the Redskins and 49ers have both selected nine quarterbacks in the draft.


Cowboys QB selections under Jerry Jones

1. Troy Aikman, 1st rd., 1st pick, 1989
2. Steve Walsh, supplemental draft, 1989
3. Bill Musgrave, 4th rd., 106th pick, 1991
4. Quincy Carter, 2nd rd., 53rd pick, 2001
5. Stephen McGee, 4th rd., 101st pick, 2009

Most QB's selected in the NFL draft since 2000:

Redskins: 9
49ers: 9
Ravens: 8
New York Jets: 8

Even the Colts and Patriots, the two teams with the best quarterbacks of this era, both of whom were drafted in the '90s, have selected more QB's than the Cowboys in this century:

Colts: 4
Patriots: 6

So don't hold your breath for the Cowboys to move up to select Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel, or anybody else for that matter.

Jerry Jones was high on Manziel but didn’t want a QB controversy

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 10, 2014, 7:00 AM EDT


Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones said Johnny Manziel “was probably the highest player on the board” when the Cowboys were on the clock with the 16th overall pick on Thursday night. But Jones passed on Manziel because the Cowboys are totally committed to Tony Romo.

“I said last night, it was all about Tony Romo,” Jones said. “I was just looking at it today and thought, ‘You put that with the Dallas Cowboys and you put that with the quarterback controversy over Romo, and you’ve got an explosion.’”

It certainly would have been an explosion of media attention if Manziel had ended up in Dallas, and Jones believes Manziel is going to be a game-changer in the NFL. What Jones doesn’t think is that Manziel would be good enough to beat out Romo.

“[Manziel]’s got a chance to knock it out of the park, and we all know that, but with what Romo’s got, his knowledge of the game, and his experience, then frankly, Romo’s arm is quicker and stronger,” Jones said. “So with all of that, he’s not going to beat Romo out. The only thing this thing does is all of a sudden Romo has a shorter career than we might have anticipated, and then you’re sitting here for several years.”

Jones compared Manziel to Elvis Presley in terms of the impact he’d have at the box office. That might sound exactly like the kind of player Jones would want, but Jones already has Romo, and in Jones’s mind, Romo is like the Beatles.

jsmith6919 said:

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You don't think it is?

L.T. Fan said:

You don't think it is?

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After seeing the wr have to come back to the ball nearly everytime Romo throws deep you actually think it is?

I thin Jerry is covering his ass with local fans and also if Manziel ends up being a legit star, he can say he knew it all along.

jsmith6919 said:

After seeing the wr have to come back to the ball nearly everytime Romo throws deep you actually think it is?

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I think Romo might have lost a little on strength but not quickness. I have a hard time remembering anything from last season that was a typical vertical game. Memory serves me that Romo was usually throwing on the move rather than a straight drop back and throw. It's hard for me to gauge the strength because of that.

L.T. Fan said:

You don't think it is?

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Nope, at least not in terms of arm strength. Yes, Romo's release is quicker.

L.T. Fan said:

I think Romo might have lost a little on strength but not quickness. I have a hard time remembering anything from last season that was a typical vertical game. Memory serves me that Romo was usually throwing on the move rather than a straight drop back and throw. It's hard for me to gauge the strength because of that.

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He does have a faster release, but his arm was never that strong to begin with

jsmith6919 said:

After seeing the wr have to come back to the ball nearly everytime Romo throws deep you actually think it is?

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You have to wonder how much of that was due to his back. The real question is how does he come back from the surgery. Is the loss of strength permanent?

hstour said:

You have to wonder how much of that was due to his back. The real question is how does he come back from the surgery. Is the loss of strength permanent?

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I don't think it was his back because the first surgery was to remove a cyst that was down at the end of his sacrum near the tailbone. The second surgery was done late in the season and he never played another down after that. I think it was primarily because he didn't stay still long enough to get set up. Tat doesn't say he hasn't lost strength because he may have but it's more difficult for me to assess.