To say that Johnny Manziel had a disappointing NFL career wouldn’t tell half of the story.
Once considered to be the biggest sensation in college football, he could never take off in the pros.
Manziel fought some demons and wasn’t always in the best position to succeed, either, and he was out of the league just a couple of years after his days with the Cleveland Browns.
However, things could’ve been quite different, not only for him but for the league as a whole.
In a recent sitdown for Maxx Crosby’s podcast, the Texas A&M legend revealed that he was pretty close to signing with the Kansas City Chiefs the year they drafted Patrick Mahomes.
“I thought I was gonna sign in Kansas City the same year that Mahomes got drafted. So I think they wouldn’t have taken a quarterback, which thank God they did,” Manziel said.
Wild: Johnny Manziel thought he was going to sign with the Chiefs in 2017, which would have prevented Kansas City from drafting Patrick Mahomes.
“I thought I was gonna sign in Kansas City the same year that Mahomes got drafted. So I think they wouldn’t have taken a quarterback,… pic.twitter.com/GJbMRx6tY2
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 21, 2025
Of course, the Chiefs may have felt like they dodged a massive bullet.
Mahomes went on to become the best quarterback in the game, leading them to five trips to the Super Bowl and three rings.
He’s never gone home before the AFC Championship Game since he’s been a starter, and he’s perhaps the only player with a legitimate chance to tie or even pass Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback of all time.
Maybe none of that would’ve happened if the Chiefs had turned to Manziel.
We’ve seen how being in the right environment can make or break a player.
Perhaps Manziel would’ve gone on to fulfill his destiny and become an NFL star, and Mahomes would’ve never gotten his chance.
That’s the beauty and the cruelty of sports, and Manziel’s career will be nothing more than a big ‘what if’ now.
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