Even in the wake of his transcendent performance against two-time defending BCS champion Alabama, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel still cannot shake concerns about his maturity.
Former Kansas City Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, now an analyst for NBC's "Football Night in America," said that he would not draft Manziel without a full account of his actions on and off the field.
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"Today? I would not draft him," Pioli said during the weather delay of the San Francisco 49ers-Seattle Seahawks game Sunday. "What I would be doing is spending my time finding out and chasing the ghosts of the issues that he has."
Pioli said that investing in Manziel would be different than taking a player with similar issues at any other position.
"This is going to be the leader of your football team, the leader of your franchise; probably the face of your franchise," Pioli said. "The last thing you want to do is put someone in that position with those issues that's going to be representing your club."
But Manziel's 562 yards of total offense and five passing touchdowns in the 49-42 loss to the Crimson Tide won over former Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy.
"I think he's a special player," Dungy said during the same broadcast. "I think he makes other guys around him better -- he excites his team. I like Johnny Manziel."
That's going to be the conundrum for NFL scouts, coaches and executives whenever Manziel enters the draft, balancing Johnny Football the football player with Johnny Football the personality and media phenomenon.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
