Everyone from Mike Mayock to Around The League's Dan Hanzus pegged Johnny Manziel as a draft-day possibility for the Dallas Cowboys.
First-round draft pick signing tracker
No. 2 pick Greg Robinson has yet to sign with the Rams. Find out which first-rounders have contracts secured. **More...**
After the team passed on the lightning-rod signal-caller in favor of offensive linemanZack Martin, owner and general manager Jerry Jones went out of his way to insist that he "didn't spend a lot of time considering Manziel" with Tony Romo under contract.
Jones, though, notably contradicted himself on Friday, saying that Manziel's tumble down the board made for a tough decision when Dallas went on the clock at No. 16 overall.
"Well, it was. Yes, it was," Jones told "Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly" on Friday. "First of all, I couldn't believe he had fallen there. And secondly, we had spent a lot of time, I'd spent a lot of time. He's the kind of player that can be that kind of difference-maker. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll be a successful player.
"We have in Romo what I consider to be the better quarterback," Jones said. "But there's also the future, there's also insurance if you don't have him. If anybody could have adjusted to Manziel's style, we could have because we're a lot like that with Romo."
Jones doesn't need to utter another word. It's clear the Cowboys -- Jerry, at least -- waged war with the temptation to bring Johnny Football to Big D.
After all, find us another owner already staring back wistfully on a draft that happened less than a month ago and asking, "What if?"
The latest "Around The League Podcast" picks the best receiver group in the NFL, and goes deep previewing the season with Bucky Brooks.