Has Lack of Manziel on the Field Hurt the Potential for 2014 NFL Rookies?

Coming into 2014, the hype was all about Johnny Manziel. He was one of the first prospects to come out of college with both fame and talent to make it in the NFL, a recipe for success in the hobby as well. Bottom line, when you have the fame like Tim Tebow, you are going to be a darling among collectors regardless of play. Now that Hoyer has taken the starting job and doesnt look like he is ready to let go, Manziel’s stuff is sagging a bit. Can the rookie class survive without Manziel being at the forefront?

Check out the recent prices we are seeing from Manziel, these cards have been dropping frequently:

2014 Inception Johnny Manziel Auto Inscription /10

2014 Topps Finest Johnny Manziel Gold Refractor Auto Patch

2014 Topps Prime Johnny Manziel Auto Six Relic Booklet

2014 Topps Finest Johnny Manziel Auto Red Refractor /15

Its a curious question because there are a lot of rookies that have potential. Recent surges by Bortles and Bridgewater to take their teams' starting jobs have been great for the hobby, and their cards. Bridgewater missed a nationally televised game with an ankle injury that has been an issue for his short term value, but his cards will pick back up. Same thing goes for Bortles, whose Jaguars are really struggling to win and be productive. Bortles' card values are still strong because of his nice potential shown in his two starts. Both QBs have done very well all things considered, and in that case, Manziel hasnt been too big of an issue for the other RCs in the class.

Eventually All the rookies will need to perform for the box prices to not take a hit, but so far, there has been a great performance from the the other tiers in the rookies class to prevent a huge fall from Manziel not playing.

Other rookies like Odell Beckham and Mike Evans havent really been playing much to help the class ein their own right, but that will change with both rookies coming back from injuries. Other guys like Kelvin Benjamin and the other rookie receivers have made up for it, with Benjamin taking home rookie of the month. Eventually once the play of Bridgewater and Bortles settles into where we expect them to be, we will have a better idea of what the rookie class might be able to do if Manziel doesnt end up playing this year.

The question comes from this – if Manziel is benched for the entire season, how much does this hurt box prices and eventual other things that can be affected by his absence from the field. Can products like Flawless and Five Star still be as successful if he sits? No idea. But its worth talking about. Derek Carr hasnt exactly been lights out in Oakland, and Austin Davis doesnt look like he is anything more than TJ Yates version 2014. So, does this mean that guys like Terrance West and Andre Williams can make things more interesting?

Other big rookies like Sammy Watkins and Jadeveon Clowney have been relatively quiet all things considered, and that says a lot about what people were expecting coming into 2014. I think that we really have to see what happens as the season moves along, especially if none of the 2014 rookies have made the impact we are expecting.

Even though I dont like Manziel all that much, I do want him to succeed. I want the 2014 class to be one to remember. We need cards like this to sell regardless of how much he plays.

One thought on “Has Lack of Manziel on the Field Hurt the Potential for 2014 NFL Rookies?

  1. Hopefully Manziel has an Aaron Rodgers situation… Doesnt play for a while, then when he plays(and plays well?) it will breathe some fresh air($$) in to the box price.

    Remember when the class of 2005 mostly didnt pan out and bowman chrome was at $30 a box in 2006/7?

    My questions is do the rookie qbs just have to play or do they have to play well? There isnt the prospecting in FB that there is in baseball but is it enough to be one of 32 starting qbs for the “hobby” to value your rookie? Maybe Manziel on the sidelines creates a “hold” rating for 2014 products.

    Its not like even the above avg starting QBs see much love(Eli Manning or Phil Rivers anyone?) so why are rookie QBs on bad teams such a thing? All early pick QBs go to bad teams, rarely does the system allow an Andrew Luck to go to a team that didnt have much downtime..

    Are there people that think the Raiders, Vikes or Jags will be in the playoffs with this year’s draft pick QB in the next 3 years? And on the other side do people think Russell Wilson could take any of those teams to the playoffs in his first 3 years if they had drafted him in the first round?

    Its player combined with team and with the opportunity. Denver would make the playoffs with Osweiler but the Browns arent making it with Hoyer or Manziel.

    My thought is that Hoyer will play well enough to keep the job for the year so barring injury, Manziel is the buzzard flying overhead…

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