Perhaps no player has seen more hype heading into his rookie season than Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel. The combination of eye-popping collegiate numbers and his off the field exploits make Manziel the perfect talking point.
Manziel is going to be the starter for the Browns sooner rather than later. Even if he isn't behind center in Week 1, he is going to get his shot at some point in 2014 - barring Brian Hoyer emerging as the second coming of Joe Montana.
Manziel's challenge of living up to the hype in his rookie campaign will be a difficult one. Many players have backed up the buzz with stellar careers, but doing it right away can be difficult. Even Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions as a rookie.
Here are five players that took the league by storm as rookies.
Andrew Luck
Luck's numbers from his rookie year don't jump out at you - he had 23 touchdowns and 18 interceptions - but his intangibles made the difference for the Indianapolis Colts in 2012. The No. 1 pick led the team to an 11-5 record and a playoff spot after finishing the previous campaign 2-14. His seven game-winning drives in the fourth quarter tied him for the most in the league.
Robert Griffin III
Griffin was chosen right behind Luck in the 2012 draft by the Washington Redskins and wasted little time displaying his skills. The Baylor product threw 20 touchdowns to just five interceptions and found the end zone another seven times on the ground while running for more than 800 yards. More importantly, he helped the Redskins to their first NFC East title since 1999.
Marshall Faulk
Faulk ran for better than 4,500 yards in three seasons at San Diego State, which had fans eagerly anticipating what he could do at the pro level. However, some felt the Colts reached for him at second overall in the 1994 draft because he played against inferior competition in the WAC conference. Faulk quickly put those fears to rest, running for 11 touchdowns and nearly 1,300 yards as a rookie while totaling more than 1,800 yards from scrimmage.
Barry Sanders
Sanders scampered for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns while capturing the Heisman trophy for Oklahoma State in 1988. It's not a surprise that the Detroit Lions took him third overall that year, nor was it shocking to watch him run for nearly 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns as a rookie. Sanders ran for 2,053 and 1,491 yards respectively in his final two seasons before retirement. Now that's going out on top.
Bo Jackson
Jackson's NFL debut was delayed a year after refusing to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who took him first overall in 1986. Jackson was adamant about focusing on his baseball career, so the Bucs forfeited his rights and the Raiders took a chance on re-drafting him in the seventh round in 1987. Al Davis eventually convinced him to sign and his rookie season saw him post 554 yards. That looks mediocre until you consider he did it on only 81 attempts - a 6.8 yards-per-carry average - thanks to playing in just seven games after spending an entire season with the Kansas City Royals. Had Jackson played a full rookie campaign with the Raiders, his numbers would have been off the charts.