The No 1 overall pick in this year’s draft is tasked with replacing one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time in Indianapolis. Just like his predecessor Peyton Manning, Luck began his NFL career with a touchdown pass on his very first throw. Now the world is waiting to see how much further the comparisons will extend Photograph: Brent Smith/Reuters
After 14 years in Indianapolis, Manning himself is embarking on a new chapter of his career in Denver. But will he be the same player who tore up the record books during his first 13 seasons – earning the league’s Most Valuable Player award on four separate occasions – or will the neck surgery that kept him out for the last 12 months have taken its toll? Can he even stay healthy for a full season? If he can play at anything close to his best, Denver will be a contender in the AFC Photograph: Hector Acevedo/ Hector Acevedo/ZUMA Press/Corbis
The cover star of both the Madden 13 video game and ESPN the Magazine’s season preview edition, Johnson led the league in receiving yards last season, averaging just over 100 yards – plus one touchdown – every game. After signing a new eight-year, $132m contract this offseason, the challenge for Megatron – as he is affectionately known – is to sustain such success in the face of the now infamous Madden curse Photograph: Damon Tarver/ Damon Tarver/ZUMA Press/Corbis
Not far behind Johnson in the earnings stakes is Williams, whose six-year, $100m contract with Buffalo contains $50m of guaranteed money – the most ever awarded to a defensive player. If he can be as effective for the Bills as he had been for the Houston Texans, racking up 28 sacks over the past two seasons, then they will consider him to have been worth every penny Photograph: David Duprey/AP
Caught off guard by the wave of scepticism and debate that met his announcement this summer that he had taken up a new vegan diet, Foster will hope to demonstrate this season that eating meat is not a prerequisite for enjoying a successful career as an NFL running back. Given that he has been one of the most productive in the league in each of the last two seasons, the smart money says he should succeed Photograph: Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Named to the league’s all-star game – the Pro Bowl – in every one of his five years in the league to date, Willis is the unquestioned leader of a 49ers defence which emerged as one of the best in the league last season – giving up just 14.3 points per game and almost carrying them to a Super Bowl berth. Recognised by his peers as the best inside linebacker in the league, his presence will be critical to San Francisco’s hopes of another postseason run Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Tom Jenkins
Although selected one spot after Luck in this year’s draft, there are many who believe RGIII will prove the better NFL player – citing the greater speed which allows him to tuck the ball in and run when necessary. The debate may not be settled for many years, but with RGIII also being thrown straight into the starting line-up in Washington, there is no question that he will be under just as much scrutiny Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
One reason that expectations are so high for RGIII is the success of Newton – another athletic quarterback accustomed to making plays with his feet – during his own rookie year last season with Carolina. Newton set rookie records for passing yards (4,051) and total touchdowns (35) last season and will be targeting further improvement in his second year Photograph: Duncan Williams/ Duncan Williams/ZUMA Press/Corbis
With double-digit sack numbers in each of the last six seasons, Ware is one of the most consistently productive pass rushers in the league. His 19.5 sacks last season represented almost half of the Cowboys’ total output Photograph: Gus Ruelas/AP
Last year Brees did not so much break as obliterate Dan Marino’s longstanding record for passing yards in a single season, throwing for a remarkable 5,476 plus 46 touchdowns as his team dominated the NFC South before losing a nail-biter to San Francisco in the play-offs. Brees signed a new five-year, $100m contract this offseason but will be under even greater pressure than usual following the suspension of head coach Sean Payton for a full year over the team’s Bountygate scandal. More than ever, the onus will be on Brees to lead this team Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters
Officially there is no debate in New York, where Mark Sanchez is the starting quarterback and Tebow a back-up whose ability to both run and throw the team hope to utilise in specific situations. But given both Sanchez’s struggles thus far in his NFL career and the cultural phenomenon that Tebow became during his one erratic, unlikely and undoubtedly compelling season as starter for the Denver Broncos, it is hard to believe that we won’t be hearing plenty more about him this year. And probably sooner rather than later Photograph: Chris Szagola/Zuma Press/Corbis
