Johnny Manziel was impressive in his preseason debut with the Cleveland Browns and reports indicated that the rookie quarterback is strongly being considered to start in the season opener.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer reported on Sunday that Manziel has moved ahead of Brian Hoyer in the quarterback competition after making 7-of-11 attempts for 63 yards and 27 additional yards on the ground against the Detroit Lions.

And if Manziel, the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, performs well in their upcoming game against the Washington Redskins on Aug. 18, he could be a lock to start in week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But in an interview with ESPN, Browns coach Mike Pettine denied reports about their quarterback depth chart, saying that Hoyer is still their top option at this point.

"We put Brian out there with the ones, and that was for a reason," Pettine said of starting Hoyer against the Lions on Saturday. "Because he was ahead, because of his edge in experience and the lead he had with the playbook. And he's done nothing to have that taken away from him."

Pettine had nothing but praises for Manziel, though, saying that the 21-year-old quarterback has exceeded expectations so far, especially after his performance against the Lions.

"Johnny has made some improvement, a lot of improvement," Pettine said of Manziel. "He's come in, and the things where he was behind in the spring, I think he's got a pretty firm grasp on. As we said before, it was him versus the playbook, and he's handling it well. He's really gone from one extreme to the other, and I think he's handled it well."

But when asked if Hoyer's spot on the starting lineup is already set in stone, Pettine said that there is still no clear-cut leader at this point, saying that both players deserve to start.

"If there was a clear-cut favorite at this point, it would probably mean that one of them wasn't playing very well," Pettine said. "It's a good problem to have, having two guys that we think are both capable of being NFL starters."

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