On the opening night of the NFL draft, Johnny Manziel texted, “Hurry up and draft me,” to Cleveland Browns quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains. This prompted the Browns to trade for a lower draft number to acquire the Texas A&M former Heisman Trophy winner.
Loggains made the comment in a “Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly” radio interview on ESPN Arkansas 96.3. According to Loggains, when Johnny Football dropped down on the draft board that night, Manziel texted him: “I wish you guys would come get me. Hurry up and draft me because I want to wreck this league together.”
The Browns, who held the No. 26 position in the draft, traded their third round pick and that 26 pick to the Philadelphia Eagles to move up on the board to No. 22. Significantly, that bounce moved the Browns ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs, who stood at No. 23, rumored ready–at least within their fan base–to make Manziel their field general. Unfortunately for these Chiefs fans, who face the prospect of losing starting quarterback Alex Smith to free agency after this season, the draft didn’t go the way that they were hoping.
After hearing from coach Loggains that the storied quarterback “wanted to be here; he wants to be part of it,” Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said, “Pull the trigger. We’re trading up to go get this guy.”