If Johnny Manziel was there, would Kansas City Chiefs have drafted him?

I promise this is the only Johnny Manziel post we're doing on this draft. Someone, please hold me to it.

I find what happened with Manizel, the 2012 Heisman-winning quarterback, to be fascinating. Many people had him going in the top 10 but he fell to the No. 22, where the Browns traded up to select him one spot ahead of the Chiefs (same draft spots as the Brady Quinn trade in 2007).

Would the Chiefs have drafted Manziel? Here's what they said when asked directly about him:

GM John Dorsey: "That's a hypothetical, because he went before us. That wasn't even in the equation."

Andy Reid: "I would have called you first to make sure it's okay. He's a heck of a football player."

An Arrowhead Pride reader named Austin sent me an email last night stating why he believes the Chiefs would have drafted Manziel if he fell to No. 23. This is all clearly speculative but I thought he had some interesting reasoning, even if it doesn't mean anything now.

Update: Teicher says they would've passed on him.

They would have passed RT @intheend614: @adamteicher any word on if the browns hadn't moved up the Chiefs would have taken Manziel?

— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) May 9, 2014

End update

Here is what reader Austin had to say ...

Reid's former co-worker Jon Gruden liked him

1) During the middle stages of the Manziel draft slide, a brief but somewhat tenuous exchange between Jon Gruden and Mel Kiper took place on ESPNs draft telecast. Gruden seemed fairly confident when he stated that, despite Mel's misgivings, Andy Reid would not hesitate to take Manziel if he were still available at 23. Why does this matter? Gruden and Reid both coached Brett Favre while on Mike Holmgren's Green Bay staff; both run very similar versions of the West Coast offense; and both have very similar tastes in mobile, unrefined quarterbacks.

Similar to other Reid QBs

2) Manziel has too much in common with previous Reid quarterbacks: Michael Vick, Vince Young, Donovan McNabb, Alex Smith

Drafting for future need

3) The Chiefs were ultimately left to settle with drafting Dee Ford - a situational pass rusher who plays the same position as current Chiefs stars: Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. Yes, the contract situations for both stars is a little murky after this coming season, but the same could be said for quarterback Alex Smith - who's contract negotiations with the Chiefs have reportedly reached a stalemate.

Would Chiefs have traded back?

4) The Philadelphia Eagles were compensated with an extra third round draft selection from Cleveland while only having to move back four picks to the 26th spot of the first round. Reid and Dorsey stated that their phones were ringing at a relentless rate with teams inquiring about switching out picks with the Chiefs, and I'm hard pressed to believe that Dorsey and Reid were unwilling to accept an offer similar to that of the Eagles', especially given the very real possibility that Dee Ford would have still been available at 26 (most 'expert' mock projections had him taken in the early to mid part of the second round) ... unless of course the player they intended to select with that 23rd pick wasn't an oft-injured, situational defensive player, but rather a potential franchise altering quarterback with more charisma, sizzle, and hype than any other NFL draftee in recent memory. As a lifelong Chiefs fan, I'm not saying this is a bad thing. My gut tells me that the Cleveland Browns saved Coach Reid and the Chiefs front office from becoming victims of the Johnny Manziel hype machine. But then again, what if quarterback savant Andy Reid could have found a way to harness the magic that was / is Johnny Football?