National Football League

Report: Agent denies Manziel wants to avoid Jaguars in NFL Draft

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:35 p.m. ET

foxsports

Throughout the NFL Draft process, perhaps in an attempt to drive up demand for his professional football services, Johnny Manziel has often talked without fear of embracing the challenge of turning around a losing team.

But is it all a public smokescreen?

According to an SI.com report, the 2012 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback is not thrilled with the possibility of being drafted by the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars.

The apparent reason? It's not the recent losing, but instead the 32nd-ranked market size in the NFL that supposedly concerns Johnny Football when it comes to branding his future superstar.

Manziel's agent Erik Burkhardt flatly denied the report on Wednesday, telling Profootballtalk.com the report was "not true." This comes on the heels of a separate report Wednesday that there is growing momentum toward the Houston Texans selecting the Texas A&M star No. 1 overall.

The same SI.com report also says Manziel's family members are quietly wishing for the Texans to pass on Johnny Football, hoping Manziel can avoid the distractions and potential partying pitfalls of living, working and possibly playing in his hometown.

Manziel is clearly the most polarizing player in this year's draft, with plenty of on-field positives to balance against concerns over his lack of size, as well as his lifestyle off the field.