Johnny Manziel is widely expected to become one of the top picks at quarterback in the 2014 NFL Draft and he could even go as high as first overall.

But Ron Jaworski is skeptical of Manziel's ability in the NFL. Based on Jaworski's studies of Manziel, he wouldn't select him in any of the first three rounds.

Dee Ford recorded 10.5 sacks last season for Auburn and insisted that he is a better prospect than Jadeveon Clowney.

"I'm better [than Clowney]," Ford, also a pass-rushing draft prospect, said during the interview. "Let's put it like this. People like to talk about size all the time. Size is pretty much overrated in my eyes.

"You can look at guys like Robert Mathis, Elvis Dumervil, Von Miller. These are 6-2 guys and under. People are just looking at the fact that [Clowney] is a physical specimen. Honestly if you watch the film, he plays like a blind dog in a meat market basically."

Ford tells any doubters to "go watch film."

"I play with a lot of technique," Ford said during the interview. "I watch a lot of film. These are the things I do, and it shows up."

Ford is listed as the No. 37 overall prospect by Scouts, Inc.

Johnny Manziel measured at 5-11 and 3/4, 207 pounds with 9 7/8-inch hands at the combine on Friday.

By comparison, Russell Wilson was 5-10 and 5/8, 204 pounds with 10 1/4-inch hands in 2012.

Manziel said that he feels like he plays like he's "10 feet tall."

The Arizona Cardinals are paying particular attention to Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson as they construct their defense.

“When you look at those two quarterbacks in particular, guys that not only can beat you with their arm but they can beat you with their feet, as well,” Cardinals' general manager Steve Keim said. “We felt like last year we had to get longer and more athletic on defense to try to be able to play on the perimeter with those guys.

“Because when plays break down, those guys get outside the pocket with their feet, so you have to have guys like (Karlos) Dansby and guys like Daryl Washington who can run and cover ground and play outside the box.”

The Cardinals had an excellent 10-6 record, but finished in third place in the NFC West.

Cam Newton has no plans on holding out to put pressure on the Carolina Panthers to sign him to a long-term deal.

Patrick Peterson said he wouldn't rule out a holdout, but Newton believes he's in a different situation.

“I think our positions are completely different,” Newton said of Peterson. “Being the leader of this team, I don’t think that would be a good look for me. Not taking anything away from Patrick, he’s an unbelievable player, and an elite corner in the league. But there’s some things cornerbacks can do that quarterbacks can’t.

“I’m not worried about contract discussions right now. My main focus is just becoming the better player I can become."

The Panthers went 12-4 last season and Newton wants to take a next step in his play and not worry about his contract.

“I don’t think that’s my main focus right now.,” Newton said of contractual matters. “My main focus is trying to become a better player. I think Russell Wilson put a lot of pressure on young quarterbacks, but needless to say, we don’t have that fallback answer no more. We’re no longer young quarterbacks.

“Going into my fourth year, I want to make that leap, make that stride to be a marquee quarterback in this league.”

Jake Locker's future with the Tennessee Titans is uncertain, but Ken Whisenhunt is optimistic about his chances in proving he can be a franchise quarterback.

"I am excited about finding out what he can do with our offense and trying to make things that he does well, have success with that," Whisenhunt said. "You want to try and tailor what we do to fit what his strengths are. ... I have liked what I've seen from Jake."

Whisenhunt has worked well with Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner and Philip Rivers.

The Washington Redskins struggled in yardage allowed last season, but that statistic can often be misleading.

"The year before, we were third in the league in turnovers," Jim Haslett said. "And the offense was number one in the league; they only turned it over 14 times. So if that ratio comes up, you're gonna win a lot of games. Yardage? People look at that. That's kind of for losers."

Said Haslett: "Teams that are winning and got big leads, you give up yards at the end of the game. Offenses that aren't very good, they get yardage at the end of the game, so they can rank high. That's not the object. The object is to get the ball back for the offense, let them score points."

Jadeveon Clowney had modest stats in his final season at South Carolina after recording 13.5 sacks and 23.5 tackles for a loss as a sophomore.

"When I walked into the meeting rooms, all my coaches said, 'You're playing' and 'Keep playing hard,' " Clowney told Yahoo! Sports. "If you watch our tapes, everybody can see I'm playing hard. Guys that don't know anything. ... People expect me to get five sacks, 10 tackles for loss every game, but that wasn't going to happen the way teams were playing me.

"I'm taking 80 snaps a game, all our snaps per game, I'm playing them all. Coaches were like, 'Keep playing the way you play. We love the way you play.' "

Clowney said criticism directed toward him, especially early in the season, was unwarranted.

"I kind of laughed at it," Clowney told Yahoo! Sports. "People are going to say what they want to say. I bet half of the people that are talking can't play football. They just see what they see, or don't know nothing about the game. I just get a laugh out of it.

"(My thought was) just keep winning football games. They're going to keep talking. We're going to keep winning games and try to win the SEC East. That was one of our goals this year. We fell short, but finishing No. 4 in the country has to be the best finish in South Carolina history."

Based on opponents' winning percentage in 2013, the Oakland Raiders have the most difficult schedule in the NFL.

The Raiders play in the AFC West, which had three playoff teams in the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. The AFC West also plays the NFC West in inter-conference games this season.

The Broncos, St. Louis Rams, Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and New England Patriots round out the top-10.

The Indianapolis Colts have the easiest schedule in the NFL, largely due to the weakness of the AFC South.

The Green Bay Packers will keep their base defense as 3-4 after there was speculation that they would switch to a 4-3.

"We were not as multiple maybe (last) year as we've been in prior years really because of the stress of injuries on that unit so we want to get back to some of the things that we did very well in the past and make sure we're carrying enough packages to utilize all of our players," Mike McCarthy explained, per ESPN.com.

Dom Capers has been running the 3-4 defense for more than two decade and the best defensive players on the Packers are ideally suited for the scheme.