MINNEAPOLIS -- Based on the college career he'd had and the persona he'd created, Johnny Manziel was always destined to enter the NFL with more attention than any other quarterback in the draft class of 2014. The intrigue surrounding the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner surpassed that of Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr, even as it became apparent during the 2014 season that Manziel didn't have the temperament or discipline to be successful in the league.

Now, as the Class of 2014 prepares for its third season in the league while Manziel faces a criminal investigation in Dallas, it appears the three teams who took a quarterback other than Manziel in the first 36 picks might all have their man.

Bortles threw 18 interceptions in his second season, but showed marked improvement at the end of the season, posting a 103.4 passer rating in the final five games to finish with 35 touchdown passes and 4,428 yards. Carr passed for 3,987 yards, throwing 32 touchdowns against 13 interceptions for an Oakland Raiders team that improved its win total by four games in 2015. And while Bridgewater posted the most modest numbers for a team carried by Adrian Peterson, he also completed the highest percentage of his passes and threw the fewest interceptions (nine), while quarterbacking a Minnesota Vikings team that won the NFC North.

If we've learned anything in recent years, it's not to assume a quarterback class is a finished product after two seasons (see: Robert Griffin III's decline or Tyrod Taylor's emergence). But if Bortles, Bridgewater and Carr continue to develop, they could make the group one of the top classes in the decade.

It's a far cry from two years ago, when Johnny Football fervor was the hot topic for any team in the quarterback market. The Vikings liked Manziel, and even had him at the top of their quarterback board, just ahead of Bridgewater. The price to move up and get him at No. 22, though, ultimately would have been steep, especially when the Vikings only had to move up eight picks from No. 40 to get Bridgewater. And while Manziel's legal troubles played out the weekend of the Pro Bowl, Bridgewater was in Hawaii as an injury replacement.

This isn't to kick Manziel while he's down; football pales in comparison to the issues the 23-year-old is dealing with, and it's my sincere hope he gets the help he needs. But the decisions to draft quarterbacks in the first-round are franchise-altering choices, with millions of dollars, years of success and livelihoods of decision-makers wrapped up in them. If the Vikings, Raiders and Jaguars -- three franchises that had long been derelict at the game's most important position -- all found long-term solutions out of the Class of 2014, they will have changed the landscapes of their futures. The Browns, meanwhile, are back in the market for a quarterback this spring.

It's a reminder of how difficult the quarterback position can be to project, when you're entrusting the future of your franchise to a young man in his early 20s. And yet the teams who didn't draft Manziel in 2014 could be in line for a sizable payoff.