Let's set the scene for you. On May 8, after the Pittsburgh Steelers chose Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier with the 15th overall pick, the Dallas Cowboys were now on the clock with an opportunity to snag Johnny Manziel staring them right in the face. Obviously, we all know now that the Cowboys went in another direction, taking guard Zack Martin out of Notre Dame, but just how close did Dallas come to taking Manziel?
According to a new book Manziel Mania by Jim Dent, who had a behind-the-scenes look at how it all went down, if it weren't for owner Jerry Jones' own son Stephen, JFF would be playing in Big D right now. Check out the excerpt below.
"I could just see Jones grabbing Manziel with the 16th choice of the first round," Dent writes. "I wrote a book about Jerry Jones in 1995 titled 'King of the Cowboys.' I know the Boss Hog. I knew that Jones' hands were shaking when the Cowboys went on the clock with Manziel still on the board. I could envision Jones scribbling the name of Johnny Manziel on the draft card. Indeed, all of these things happened.
"As it turned out, Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones had snatched the Manziel card straight out of his dad's hand. Otherwise, Jerry would have drafted him and JFF would have sat for at least three years behind Tony Romo."
Could you imagine Manziel in Dallas...with the Cowboys...in Jerry's World? Honestly, people's heads (and Twitter) would've probably exploded. Maybe Stephen made the right choice in physically preventing his father from taking Johnny Football. After all, the 'Boys have a quality QB in Tony Romo, amirite?
[via Deadspin]
