Nolan Nawrocki Is Trolling About Manziel and Clowney, Which Means NFL Draft Silly Season Has Begun

Nolan Nawrocki is back, which means the NFL Draft’s Silly Season has commenced. The analyst who believed Cam Newton was a delusional con artist and Geno Smith was “not a student of the game” is back. Topping his list of “most controversial prospects for the 2014 Draft,” ahead of Colt Lyerla and Jeremy Hill are Johnny Manziel and Jadeveon Clowney.

Here is his take on Manziel.

"Suspect intangibles — not a leader by example or known to inspire by his words. Carries a sense of entitlement and prima-donna arrogance seeking out the bright lights of Hollywood. Is known to party too much and is drawn to all the trappings of the game. … Has defied the odds and proven to be a great college-system quarterback, but still must prove he is willing to work to be great, adjust his hard-partying, Hollywood lifestyle and be able to inspire his teammates by more than his playmaking ability."

Well, technically, Manziel is not in Hollywood. He’s on Mission Beach, doing passing drills with George Whitfield in the ice cold surf, for the third consecutive off-season. Manziel can’t be both a “system” quarterback and reliant on his “playmaking ability.” Also, he partied “too much” for what? Did anything affect his play on the field? Was he not on track to graduate? Was there an incident we missed while he was playing football?

Nawrocki also provided some insight on Clowney.

"Lacks discipline on and off the field and has had to be managed closely since he arrived on campus. Needs to learn what it means to be a pro. Plays in spurts and is too much of a flash player — does not consistently dominate like he could. Is still immature and finding his way — too much of a follower."

We would imagine much of his “not consistently dominating” was being hurt, and South Carolina losing so much of its front seven around him he was having to fight through triple teams. When healthy and surrounded by non-freshmen as sophomore, Clowney had 13 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore. Here is him “playing in spurts.” The only “controversy” is whether his potential to be a hall-of-fame pass rusher is worth the Texans passing up a quarterback at No. 1.