The Pros and Cons of Johnny Manziel as a future Tennessee Titan

A lot has been made of Johnny Manziel this year. Poor mechanics and underwhelming measurables made him grade out as a consensus second round pick going into the season, but a terrific year and the continued success of mobile QBs in the NFL has bumped up the Texas A&M prospect quite a bit.

However, I get this strange feeling that teams will want to go with safer bets in the top 10, though there will obviously be other interested parties. It seems like Manziel is one of those players that everyone says they want on their team until it comes time to actually put their jobs on the line and pull the trigger.

Several reports (possibly smokescreens) have come out piecing together the idea that maybe a match might be made between the Titans and Manziel (see below) and if that happens, I think fans need to have a reasonable idea of what the best and worst parts of that move would be.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>2) For now, looks like the &quot;cliff&quot; for the QBs is the Vikings at 8. If top QBs fall past there ... Look out. Titans are a wild card at 11.</p>&mdash; Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/statuses/459781208931860480">April 25, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Expect <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Titans&amp;src=hash">#Titans</a> to take a QB this draft. Rumored Manziel interest, but he doesn&#39;t fit Whiz size/arm mold. Mettenberger? Logan Thomas?</p>&mdash; Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/statuses/459708506229059584">April 25, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So with that, here is a short list:

Pros

-Natural mover that will cause constant headaches for defensive coordinators looking to get a good pass rush on him.

-Can compensate for bad offensive line play in the future if Oher disappoints and Roos departs next year.

-He made strides in terms of reading defenses in his final year at Texas A&M.

-He consistently proves that he is too tough to put down.

Cons

-Often makes decides to run before a play breaks down which will cause the offensive line some concern.

-Misses wide open targets when shifting around in the pocket, mostly because he has almost always decided to run and is just waiting for an opening.

-Not a guy that is going to wow the coaching staff with his patience and ability to pick apart a defense in five-yard chunks.

-While he has been tough in the past, Webster and Whisenhunt may be very skeptical to add a slender quarterback after the issues with Jake Locker's health.

Summary

-While Manziel would make for some great headlines and would definitely push Jake Locker for a starting job if there were any issues, I don't see him as a fit for the Titans. While Whisenhunt could see a smaller, quicker Big Ben, I think he knows that a quarterback that can pick apart a defense slowly is a better fit for him. Also, while Manziel doesn't have any real character issues of note, he is a guy that draws a lot of media attention, and I am not sure that Whisenhunt really wants that type of player in Tennessee.

In the end, this move just sounds way too much like a move Bud Adams would have made. Adams was a risk taker and loved people that stood apart from the crowd, but I just don't think that anyone in the organization is ready to make such a risky pick so high when the Titans still have work to do elsewhere on the roster.