How the NFL Judges Character

In wake of Aaron Hernandez' story, a conversation with former Eagles president and Browns CEO Joe Banner on judging the character of draft picks, like Cleveland's second pick in the 2014 first round, Johnny Manziel

Albert Breer|

In wake of Aaron Hernandez' tragic story, I've been thinking a lot about character issues with NFL players. I caught up with Joe Banner, former Eagles president and Browns CEO to talk about how he judged the character of potential draft picks and free agent signings. Banner was also candid about Johnny Manziel, who he says the Browns had many concerns about when he left his position with the team just two months before Cleveland drafted Manziel in the 2014 draft. He's not sure why or how the dramatic change in opinion about Manziel occurred.

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Published Apr 21, 2017 | Modified Apr 21, 2017

ALBERT BREER

Albert Breer is a senior writer covering the NFL for Sports Illustrated, delivering the biggest stories and breaking news from across the league. He has been on the NFL beat since 2005 and joined SI in 2016. Breer began his career covering the New England Patriots for the MetroWest Daily News and the Boston Herald from 2005 to ’07, then covered the Dallas Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News from 2007 to ’08. He worked for The Sporting News from 2008 to ’09 before returning to Massachusetts as The Boston Globe’s national NFL writer in 2009. From 2010 to 2016, Breer served as a national reporter for NFL Network. In addition to his work at Sports Illustrated, Breer regularly appears on NBC Sports Boston, 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, FS1 with Colin Cowherd, The Rich Eisen Show and The Dan Patrick Show. A 2002 graduate of Ohio State, Breer lives near Boston with his wife, a cardiac ICU nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital, and their three children.

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