The Cleveland Browns ignited hope in their fanbase in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by selecting the insanely popular and polarizing Johnny Manziel with their second of two first-round picks. In doing so, most assumed Manziel would step in and start from day one, because really, "Who else plays quarterback in Cleveland, anyways?"

According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland.com, however, the Browns have yet to hand over the reigns to Manziel. Cabot reports that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam told attendees of a luncheon that take a look at the results here. But to make a long story short, Manziel's measurables and rookie circumstances compare most favorably to Donovan McNabb, Russell Wilson, Alex Smith, Tarvaris Jackson and Christian Ponder.

And of those five quarterbacks, only two (McNabb and Wilson) had anything remotely resembling a decent season within their first two years in the league. Wilson is the poster child for the athletic, short quarterback, but watching even a moment of film on Manziel reveals a much more chaotic and creative passer than the even-keeled Wilson.

None of the other comparisons are very appealing, with the three most similar (Smith, Jackson, and Ponder) all downright rotten compared to the efficiency displayed by Hoyer last season (albiet in a small sample size).

And when considering Manziel's tape more strongly, we see a quarterback who needs to gain experience doing things that NFL quarterbacks do, like making quick decisions from the pocket, and running an offense not entirely based out of the shotgun with four or five receivers. Sitting behind Hoyer for a season (or even half of a season) would provide time for Manziel to adjust to the NFL, which would be beneficial for a Browns team that may be without Josh Gordon for some or all of the season, anyways, and doesn't figure to be a contender without their offensive centerpiece.

Hoyer is at least capable enough to take care of the offense and keep the team competitive in 2014, assuming he can keep up the pace he was on in 2013. Hoyer has only started three games as a pro, but in those three games, he performed like an average, not-very-special quarterback should. He was bad against the stout 49ers defense (in 2012), he was a bit frustrating but decent against a not great Minnesota defense, and he surprised everyone with a pretty good showing against the Bengals. He's not going to be a fantasy football superstar (you usually don't target the 25th most efficient passer in fantasy), but he'll be good enough to give Browns fans something to cheer about while they wait for the return of Gordon and the arrival of Manziel.