Big Ben believes Bortles will be the best QB to come out of the draft.
Pittsburgh Steelers veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has revealed he also has reservations over Johnny Manziel ahead of the NFL Draft 2014.
Big Ben has insisted that he is impressed by Manziel’s talent after watching him during his college years, but his biggest reservation, one that has been shared by many other experts, is his ability to deal with the transition into the NFL.
The draft prospect was listed as just under six feet at the NFL scouting combine and tipped the scales at 207 pounds, and while Roethlisberger has dealt with his share of punishment he is concerned as to whether or not Manziel will be able to stand up to that.
“We’ve seen some of the scrambling, jumping, throwing, flipping type things he can do and it makes your jaw drop because it’s special stuff. Does that translate to the NFL? I don’t know,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on 93.7 The Fan, as reported by ESPN.
“The guys in the NFL are all bigger, stronger and faster.”
Roethlisberger revealed he had spoken to Steelers defensive assistant coach Joey Porter about Manziel, and had asked him whether or not he believed the quarterback could hold up physically against the bigger players in the league.
Porter responded by saying no, and although there is a lot of upside to Manziel, there are certainly areas that will worry prospective teams looking to select him.
That is reflected in the mock draft boards across the media, with some suggesting that he will be selected in the top five while others have him falling out of the first round entirely.
Roethlisberger also believes he will have trouble proving himself over a number of years, as the initial surprise element of his talent will potentially get him through the first year but then he must be able to adapt and develop his game to improve further.
Meanwhile, the Steelers quarterback believes that UCF’s Blake Bortles will end up being the best signal-caller in this draft class as he has seen his “competitiveness, leadership and he has a lot of upside”.
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