Kiper: Johnny Manziel is the NFL’s consensus No. 1 QB

This seems a bit premature before the NFL Scouting Combine, but the haired one has spoken.

Feb 6, 2014, 5:50 PM UTC

Mike Zarrilli

Could former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel be the best quarterback in the 2014 NFL Draft?

In a conference call today, Kiper said Manziel is the consensus No. 1 quarterback based on people in the league he's spoken to. That doesn't mean every team will have the former Heisman Trophy winner at the top of their draft boards. It just means more people he's talked to prefer Manziel over Blake Bortles or Teddy Bridgewater.

That could be problematic for the Cleveland Browns if they want Manziel. The Browns have the No. 4 pick in the draft and two teams ahead of them – Houston at No. 1 and Jacksonville at No. 3 – could take Manziel.

“For Cleveland, to see Manziel there would be a surprise to me,” Kiper said. “When you talk to people in the league, he’s the consensus No. 1 QB.”

Kiper said he thinks Manziel will either go to the Jaguars with the third pick or the Texans first overall.

In his latest mock draft, Kiper has the Texans choosing Manziel.

“My internal debate here was Mr. Football or Mr. Clowney,” Kiper wrote in his mock draft. “Thing is, I don’t think that’s too much different than the scenario going on with Houston right now -- just add a few players to the mix. In Manziel, you get a quarterback who in my opinion is ready to play NFL football and make plays, and is preparing with the goal of helping a team right away.”

Still, though, in February before the NFL Combine, there likely isn't much of a concrete consensus. That's especially true of underclassmen who teams don't even have official measurements on.

Manziel has been training for the Combine in California with quarterback coach George Whitfield. He reportedly turned down several lucrative appearance opportunities.