Johnny Manziel fails to impress in Spring League debut

Johnny Manziel has spent a lot of time away from football and has focused most of his attention on bettering himself rather than trying to improve his quarterback skills. It wasn't surprising to see him struggle during his Spring League debut on Saturday.

The numbers weren't bad. The former Browns quarterback completed 9-of-15 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. He was also sacked three times and fumbled once.

But the NFL teams that showed up to watch Manziel play his first professional football game since 2015 aren't going to care much about the results. Manziel's process is far more important.

The verdict? Manziel looked a lot like the player he was when we last saw him in a Browns uniform.

(You can watch a free replay of the game here.)

The 2014 first-round pick made some plays with his legs. His lone touchdown pass came on a broken play that required him to outrun a defender and make an off-balance throw directly into heavy wind.

Later in the game, Manziel beat a defender to the corner to move the chains on fourth down.

Manziel didn't show much as a pocket passer. His offensive line didn't help, however. There were multiple false start penalties and even when the blockers got the snap count right, they had trouble giving Manziel any time in the pocket.

His best play from the pocket came on the last drive. Manziel went through his progressions with good footwork and found his tight end over the middle.