Having been the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, Jameis Winston faces more pressure to perform right away than any other rookie. The 2013 Heisman Trophy winner from Florida State is already set to be both the starting quarterback and the face of the franchise for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Taking on this responsibility will likely come with some growing pains for Winston. While Winston is a proven playmaker and winner with all the tools to be an excellent NFL pocket passer, he is coming off a season in which he threw 18 interceptions and often struggled early in games.

As the competition gets tougher at the NFL level, Winston will likely continue to have issues with turnovers in his rookie season. Playing for the Buccaneers, who were the worst team in the NFL last season, also projects as a big adjustment; at Florida State, Winston lost just one game and consistently had an advantage of his team being more talented than its opponent.

With that being said, Tampa Bay fans should also expect to see moments of brilliance from their new signal-caller in 2015. He should be able to pick up the Buccaneers offense quickly, having worked in a complex pro-style system at Florida State, and he already has a proven ability to throw between tight windows and make plays from the pocket under pressure.

The Buccaneers are unlikely to become an immediate playoff contender with Winston in 2015, but they should be much better off than they were with Josh McCown and Mike Glennon at quarterback last season. As long as Winston stays out of trouble off the field and improves his decision-making on it, he could become one of the NFL’s top passers in short order.

Just like Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota is being tasked with immediately taking over starting quarterback duties for a team that won just two games last season. The No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Mariota has the tools to be a star for the Tennessee Titans, but like Winston, he also faces challenges that could lead to growing pains in his rookie year.

The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner from Oregon, Mariota is an athletic dual-threat who is both a skilled passer and a dangerous runner. But while Mariota is coming off a better 2014 season than Winston, it is likely to take Mariota some time to acclimate to the Titans offense.

While Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt and his staff will certainly make some adjustments to their offensive system in order to capitalize upon Mariota’s mobility, Whisenhunt’s offenses have traditionally been deeply rooted in passing from the pocket. This will be a change for Mariota, who operated in an up-tempo, rapidly moving spread offense at Oregon, and has often benefited from being able to throw to open targets.

Mariota made great strides as a pocket passer this past season, and he has the intelligence to learn a new system quickly and adapt his game accordingly. So while the adjustment could lead to some struggles in his rookie season, Titans fans should still expect Mariota to be an upgrade and add excitement to their offense this year.

While Zach Mettenberger has joked that he will “fight [Mariota] to the death” to start at quarterback, the job has truly already been handed to the rookie, according to The Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt. The Titans drafted Mariota to be the face of their franchise, and they will go forward with him—even with the learning curve he faces—as their starter this season.

Melvin Gordon wasn’t the first running back selected in this year’s draft, but the No. 15 overall selection likely will have the most rushing attempts of any NFL rookie. While No. 10 overall pick Todd Gurley will likely be brought along gradually as he recovers from a torn ACL, Gordon should be in line to take on a lion’s share of carries for the San Diego Chargers in 2015.

Gordon is no stranger to a heavy workload—he ran the ball 343 times in his 2,587-yard, Doak Walker Award-winning season at Wisconsin last year—and he easily projects as the most talented running back on San Diego’s roster.

Branden Oliver, Donald Brown and Danny Woodhead could all still factor in the San Diego offense as role players, but the Chargers wouldn’t have traded up to draft Gordon at No. 15 overall if they didn’t envision him being an every-down back.

Running backs typically have a shorter learning curve than rookies at other positions, so there’s no reason to think Gordon shouldn’t succeed as a runner in 2015. He was not used often as a pass-catcher at Wisconsin, so he could have a learning curve in that regard, but his combination of size, burst, quickness and vision should enable him to make a difference as a ball-carrier from Week 1 onward.

Behind a Chargers offensive line that added multiple quality veterans up front this offseason, Gordon should have a great shot at topping 1,000 rushing yards as a rookie and contending for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

A talented but raw offensive tackle prospect, No. 9 overall pick Ereck Flowers would have truly been best suited by a situation in which he could develop for a year before being thrust into a starting role. Instead, he is in line to play the premier position on the New York Giants’ offensive line after starting left tackle Will Beatty suffered a pectoral tear that is expected to keep him out five to six months, according to Michael Eisen of Giants.com.

Rookies thrust into starting left tackle positions struggle more often than not, and chances are good that Flowers won’t be an exception. In a recent edition of “Monday Morning Quarterback,” Sports Illustrated’s Greg A. Bedard shared concerns that multiple NFL offensive line coaches have about Flowers starting as a rookie.

“Some of the worst technique I’ve ever seen in a player drafted that high,” one veteran NFL offensive line coach, whose name was not reported, told Bedard. “He played for one of the best [collegiate offensive line] coaches, Art Kehoe, and his technique was terrible,” another coach told Bedard.

Those sentiments might be a tad extreme, but they nonetheless underscore the reality that inserting Flowers into the lineup will likely lead to some rough patches in 2015.

Even with those concerns, Flowers is still the Giants’ best option to fill in for Beatty. Marshall Newhouse is a proven liability at left tackle, and moving Justin Pugh from right tackle would only leave the Giants with a new hole at another position.

Ultimately, the opportunity to play will enable Flowers, the Giants’ left tackle of the future, to develop through experience. And while he remains a work in progress, the Miami product’s combination of size (6’6”, 329 lbs), length (34 1/2” arms), power and quickness offers immense long-term upside.

Like Ereck Flowers, Ty Sambrailo was initially set to either start at right tackle or be a developmental backup in his rookie season, but now appears to be in line to start at left tackle following an injury to his team’s veteran starter.

Ryan Clady, who has been the Broncos’ starting left tackle since 2008, was placed on season-ending injured reserve after suffering a torn ACL last week. With Clady sidelined, the Broncos are turning to Sambrailo, their second-round pick, to take Clady’s place as Peyton Manning’s blind-side protector.

Sambrailo, who allowed only sack at Colorado State last season according to Rotoworld.com, comes in with opposite concerns from Flowers. From a technical standpoint, Sambrailo is a fairly polished player who uses his hands and footwork effectively in pass protection. Physically, however, it is questionable whether Sambrailo has the length, strength and agility to handle top NFL edge defenders.

Nonetheless, Sambrailo projects as the Broncos’ best option to replace Clady. While Chris Clark filled in when Clady was injured in 2013, he is even more limited physically than Sambrailo. Ryan Harris, who the Broncos signed last week in wake of Clady’s injury, projects as a right tackle option only. 2014 third-round pick Michael Schofield could compete for a starting job on the Broncos’ offensive line in his second year, but he has no collegiate or pro experience at left tackle.

The offensive line already projected as the weakest area on the Broncos’ roster even before Clady’s injury, so if Sambrailo is tasked with leading the unit at left tackle, he will have one of the toughest jobs of any rookie in the NFL. At least his 42 starts at Colorado State, including two full seasons at left tackle, bolster his chances of being successful.

While Ereck Flowers is being pushed into duty at left tackle due to an injury, the New York Giants’ second-round pick, strong safety Landon Collins, was tabbed to be an immediate starter from the moment the Giants traded up to the No. 33 overall selection to draft him.

After letting go of Antrel Rolle, Stevie Brown and Quintin Demps in free agency this offseason, the Giants do not have a single safety on their roster who has started an NFL game. A trio of fifth-round picks—2013 selection Cooper Taylor, 2014 selection Nat Berhe and fellow rookie Mykkele Thompson—are Collins’ only competition for playing time at the position.

Collins stands out by a wide margin as the most talented safety in that group.

A hard hitter at 6’0” and 228 pounds, Collins is best suited to play strong safety, specifically as an in-the-box enforcer against the run. If utilized in that capacity, Collins should prove to be one of the Giants’ leading tacklers in his rookie season.

With that being said, the Giants’ lack of talent at the position might force them to utilize Collins more frequently in a deep coverage role. Such a role would not play to the strengths of Collins’ game, and would likely lead to some bad beats in coverage. Regardless, he has enough range and coverage ability that the Giants might not have a better option at the position.

The Cleveland Browns were widely panned last season when their two first-round picks in the 2014 draft, Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel, failed to establish themselves and earn consistent playing time as rookies. For at least the Browns’ first of their Round 1 picks this year, Danny Shelton, don’t expect that to be the case.

Cleveland allowed more rushing yards than any other team in the NFL last season, and a big reason for that was its lack of a formidable run-stopping presence at the nose tackle position. In Shelton, a 339-pound lineman who recorded a whopping 93 total tackles in his senior season at Washington, the Browns should get that.

Shelton’s only real competition for playing time should be Phil Taylor, who was a first-round pick in 2011 but has had an injury-riddled, disappointing career to this point. Even with Shelton missing Cleveland’s organized team activities, due to an NFL rule that forbids him from participation until his graduation from Washington on June 14, it would be a surprise if he is not the Browns’ Week 1 starter at nose tackle.

Although Shelton did not test impressively at the NFL Scouting Combine, his quickness and unusual playmaking range for a man of his size is evident on the field. He is stout at the point of attack and able to handle double teams, but also able to make plays all along the line of scrimmage.

Because he will likely substitute out of the game in pass-rushing packages, there’s a good chance Shelton will play less snaps in 2015 than the rest of the rookies on this list. Quality nose tackle play is vital to the success of a base 3-4 defense, however, and that’s why Shelton is included nonetheless.

Eric Kendricks is smaller than the average middle linebacker, but that hasn’t stopped the Minnesota Vikings from slotting the second-round pick in as their new starter at the position.

A fluid athlete who has great range and coverage ability for a linebacker, but stands at only 6’0” and 232 pounds, Kendricks is ideally suited to play weak-side linebacker. As a downhill attacker from the middle linebacker position, Kendricks could be at risk of getting swallowed up by bigger blockers.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has acknowledged that in the long term, Kendricks’ future will likely be at the weak-side position. For now, however, Zimmer has indicated that the Vikings view Kendricks as their new Mike linebacker, where they are replacing Jasper Brinkley, for 2015.

“We’re going to start him at [middle] linebacker and see where that goes,” Zimmer said earlier this month, according to Andrew Krammer of 1500ESPN.com.

Either way, Kendricks should be in line to play a big role in 2015, as the team’s incumbent weak-side linebacker, Chad Greenway, is on the back end of his career at 32 years old. Given Kendricks’ ability to drop in pass defense and Greenway’s gradual decline with age, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Kendricks ends up replacing Greenway at the Will position in sub-packages.

Ultimately, it shouldn’t matter too much what specific linebacker position Kendricks ends up playing. Regardless, the play recognition ability and tackling skill he consistently exhibited at UCLA should translate to a productive rookie season for the Vikings.

There were five defensive backs selected in the first round of this year’s draft, but all of them appear likely to begin their rookie seasons in situational roles rather than full-time starting capacities. It could be Eric Rowe, the draft’s No. 47 overall pick, who ends up taking on the most rookie playing time of all the cornerbacks in this year’s class.

The Philadelphia Eagles added a No. 1 cornerback this offseason by signing Byron Maxwell away from the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, while they also have one of the NFL’s best slot cornerbacks in Brandon Boykin. They lack a proven player of quality to man the No. 2 spot, however, which makes it likely they will turn to Rowe to be an immediate starter.

A 6’1”, 205-pound defensive back with a great combination of speed, length and physicality, Rowe fits the mold Chip Kelly and the Eagles were targeting at the cornerback position. In comparison to his veteran competition for a starting job, Nolan Carroll and E.J. Biggers, Rowe easily offers more upside and physical ability.

Starting Rowe could also come with pitfalls. Cornerback is typically a position at which even the top rookies have their share of struggles, and Rowe—who played cornerback for just one year at Utah and needs to work on his off-man coverage technique—is more likely than some others to have a roller-coaster first year due to his relative inexperience playing the position.

Nonetheless, Rowe should get every opportunity to win the No. 2 cornerback job, given his talent, the team’s second-round investment in him and coach Chip Kelly’s track record of taking chances. Because of that, Rowe could end up playing one of the most important roles of any rookie this year—on a team with serious playoff intentions—for better or for worse.

All measurables courtesy of NFL.com unless otherwise noted.

Dan Hope is an NFL/NFL Draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

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