Jadeveon Clowney has been destined to be the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft ever since he was a junior in high school. Johnny Manziel would easily be the first player taken this year if popularity were taken into account as much as talent and team needs.
Both hotly debated prospects have a tremendous upside for some team, but neither is considered a lock to develop into a great player in the NFL. There's a good amount of risk involved anytime a team selects a player in the top 10, but Manziel and Clowney have spurred much debate this year over which one carries more risk for a franchise. Some general manager will probably tie his job status to one of the two college stars, and one former NFL veteran cautions that executive better be leaning toward picking Clowney if they have a choice between the two.
"I think it's Johnny Manziel when you talk about the biggest risk," NFL Network's LaDainian Tomlinson said on "Path to the Draft." "With Jadeveon Clowney, right away he has the physical attributes that you want from a player who is the No. 1 pick.
"When you're looking at Johnny, there's a lot of things that are scary," he said. "The improv that he always plays with, the size as a smaller-type guy, and some of the reads I've seen him make are questionable. You're hoping he pans out with great coaching, but that's not always the case."
Clowney has occupied the top spot on NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah's top 50 prospects ever since he declared for the draft and left South Carolina. His 4.53-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine turned heads, and a quality workout at his pro day helped ramp up speculation that he would be the choice for the Houston Texans with the first overall pick. Physically, Clowney is widely considered a once-in-a-decade player, but general manager Rick Smith and others with the Texans organization still have to weigh questions about his work ethic, especially after his numbers declined dramatically in his final collegiate season.
Manziel likewise carries a huge upside, but his unorthodox style of play doesn't appear to fit the typical NFL offense. After putting up huge numbers in the SEC and capturing a Heisman Trophy as a redshirt freshman, there wasn't much that Manziel didn't do while at Texas A&M, but scouts have still knocked him for his height and lack of plays inside the pocket.
Former NFL scout Bucky Brooks agrees with Tomlinson that Clowney would be the safer choice between the two players in the draft, but the team that drafts them will determine whether they develop into Pro Bowl-caliber players.
"Both players have risk," Brooks said. "When you look at it, it's really about fit and scheme where these players go. When you look at Jadeveon Clowney, the risk is he goes to a place in Houston where he might not fit the 3-4 scheme coming off the edge.
"With Johnny Manziel, we haven't seen quarterbacks at that stature really dominant the game," Brooks said. "He's so special though. There's something about what he brings to the table."
Both bring a ton of talent and a ton of risk. A pair of general managers in this year's draft are hoping they are very right about Clowney and Manziel's abilities, but there is certainly a chance that neither ends up working out in the NFL.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
