Fran Tarkenton is latest QB to compare Johnny Manziel to himself

By Chuck Schilken

March 11, 2014 11:33 AM PT

You know who Johnny Manziel reminds me of?

Myself.

Not me personally. The former Texas A&M quarterback has enough people questioning his size going into the NFL draft without being compared to a 5-7, 130-pound blogger.

But that seems to be the line of thinking for more than one legendary NFL quarterback out there, with Fran Tarkenton comparing Manziel to himself in a recent interview with USA Today Sports.

“Nobody really played like I played. This kid plays like I did more than anybody else,” the 74-year-old Tarkenton said. “He’s the closest thing I’ve seen to myself. [Seattle Seahawks quarterback] Russell Wilson has some of it. But Manziel has those similarities even more so than Russell.”

Tarkenton, Wilson and Manziel are all known for their scrambling abilities. Tarkenton, who retired in 1978 holding several NFL passing records, is the tallest of the three at 6-feet. Wilson, who just led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory, is 5-10 3/8.

Manziel measures between the two at 5-11¾. And Tarkenton says that doesn’t matter in the least.

“People are going to say, ‘Well, he’s only 5-11¾ tall,’” the Hall of Famer said. “I wasn’t as big, strong and fast as all these other players. But I knew how to play.”

Tarkenton added: “What Manziel has is an instinctive vision. He did it against the toughest level of college football, twice the last two years against Nick Saban’s Alabama defense.”

Last month future Hall of Famer Brett Favre described watching Manziel play against Mississippi: “I almost thought I was watching film of a young Brett Favre.”

Like Tarkenton, Favre retired with several passing records to his credit. He was listed at 6-2 in his playing days.