From NFL personnel and media to governors and former president’s, all hands were on deck to witness arguably the most anticipated workout in pro day history.
Johnny Manziel started his pro day differently than the quarterbacks before him – he came out in shoulder pads and a helmet, contrary to the T-shirt and shorts that quarterbacks have worn in the past.
Manziel put his arm on display by completing 61 of his 64 pass attempts. His first incompletion came on a 45-yard pass – thrown on the run – down the sideline to Mike Evans, who couldn’t keep his feet in bounds on a throw which was slightly too far outside.
Of Manziel’s three incompletions, just one came by way of a poor throw.
Manziel showed that his work in the offseason with George Whitfield Jr. has been paying off as he took numerous snaps from under center rather than staying in the shotgun. Whitfield said Manziel may not have been perfect during his workout, but he proved that he is worthy of the attention he has garnered.
“I think one he learned how big of a jump it is to go from playing on Saturday’s to playing on Sunday’s,” Whitfield said. “It’s a grueling process, we’ve been together for about two and a half months. Secondly, he’s come an awful long way in his body. He’s gotten awful lot stronger, he’s put in his work, he’s much more acclimated to the NFL system in terms of the playbook and being able to go on the board and all the munition that comes with that. And then the execution, today we knew it was going to come down to the execution. You can’t fake that, you can’t wave a towel to that, you’ve got to go out there and do that, and he did that today.”