I'm not saying that EJ Manual should start right out of the gate, but if you recall the same things were being said about Ryan Tannehill last year. That he should sit a year behind Matt Moore, learn the game etc. Here's what Greg Cosell had to say about Tannehill pre draft:
"Tannehill was very good when improvising within structure. When the pressure forced him to abandon the boxing ring, he did, but the objective was again to find a quieter area to deliver the ball rather than to run" - Sounds a bit like Manual, who is also great outside the pocket.
"He did not drive the ball as well against Texas as he had in the earlier games. He missed some throws that were there; overall, his ball location was inconsistent."
"Tannehill at times did not do a good job of verifying the positioning of the safeties after the snap of the ball. That led to some poor reads and ill-advised throws."
"Overall, I did not necessarily see the kind of improvement over time I would have liked. Tannehill possesses the skill set to be a quality NFL starter. At this point, he would be best in a quick-rhythm, short-to-intermediate passing game that featured play-action and boot-action passes."
So to summarize, Tannehill was not nearly as polished as some would like coming out of college. Yet, he went #8 overall based on need alone, IMO. Now after posting what I would consider very average stats this year ( 12 TD's; 13 INTs; threw for 3,294 yards) is considered the 2nd best QB in the AFCE and by some, a very good QB.
Personally, I think Manual could more than replicate Tannehill's numbers and success this year.