Ryan Leaf‘s story, from No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft to career meltdown to jail time in more recent years, is well-documented by now. So his perspective on Johnny Manziel surely carries some value, and Leaf recently offered it.

During his appearance on Fox News’ ‘Fox and Friends’ on Monday morning, Leaf said watching Manziel is “like holding up a mirror.” He offered some further insight as well.

“This happens to anybody who’s addicted to anything,” he said of Manziel’s freefall. “It’s about substance abuse, it’s about whatever you use as a maladaptive behavior … it helps them numb whatever they’re feeling. And I can relate totally to what he’s going through.”

Leaf has previously made attempts to have Manziel contact him, which are not known to have been reciprocated to this point. Addiction like Leaf is referring to often comes with denial as well, and everything points to Manziel still being in that phase. Until that changes, perhaps to the point of jail time, Manziel will continue down a bad path that Leaf can absolutely relate to.