Coaches Used Manziel's iPad To Track How Much Film He Watched

Published on February 1st, 2025 7:04 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Johnny Manziel is not one of the biggest busts in NFL draft history due to his draft capital - after all, he was taken with the #22 overall pick.

Manziel, however, has to be considered one of the most disappointing picks in the history of the NFL Draft, as he seemed like such an incredible talent while he was playing college football.

The dynamic Manziel, who was practically unstoppable through the air and on the ground during his time with Texas A&M, won the Heisman Trophy in 2012.

It's been reported that the Cleveland Browns, who ultimately selected Manziel in the 2014 NFL Draft, spent $100,000 on a report which advised them on which quarterback they should take.

According to reports, the $100,000 analysis concluded that the Browns should take Teddy Bridgewater and not Johnny Manziel.

According to these same reports, the decision to draft Manziel was made by owner Jimmy Haslem. Manziel reportedly texted one of Cleveland's coaches, saying that they would wreck the league together, and this text got back to Haslem, who decided that he liked Manziel's attitude and that the Browns should draft him with the 22nd overall pick.

The rest is history.

Manziel lasted just two seasons in the league before departing for the CFL.

During his time in the NFL, Manziel passed for 7 touchdowns, 7 interceptions and 1,675 passing yards. Manziel had a number of off-the-field issues which truncated his time in the NFL.

Cleveland's coaches were uncertain as to why Manziel was struggling so much. After all, he had the natural talent but just couldn't seem to make things click in the NFL. Manziel would flash on one drive, looking great, and then make an inexplicably terrible error on the next drive.

The Browns came up with a plan - they were going to install some spyware on Manziel's iPad so they could see how much film he was watching.

Manziel was supposed to be using the iPad predigiously in order to learn the ins and outs of running a NFL offense.

Instead, the story goes, Manziel watched ZERO film.

While other quarterbacks were watching film day and night in order to get better, Manziel wasn't interested at all, and watched not even a single minute of film.

Manziel was more interested in the trappings of the NFL lifestyle and clearly had no time for film.

This was ultimately his undoing and this revelation helped to accelerate his demise in the NFL. The Browns quickly gave up on Manziel, and he was banished to the CFL, never to return.