Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross came into his rookie year with a lot of hype. He set a new all-time record in the Combine’s famous 40-yard dash and was drafted No. 9 overall by the Bengals. Unfortunately, injuries and poor play basically derailed his entire year as he was unable to live up to his top-10 status.

But despite that disappointing year, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has maintained faith in Ross, whose injury concerns have apparently been addressed as he enters his sophomore year.

“He wasn’t in my doghouse. I don’t have a doghouse,” Lewis said, per Geoff Hobson of the team's official website. “I think he’s all the ability we wanted. That’s why we drafted him. He had to get fixed. We knew he was injured going in and he got nicked up a couple of times in his lower legs and the other shoulder was bothering him. He’s all fixed now.”

The Bengals selected Ross with the hope that he could be a big-play threat to take some of the pressure off Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green. Obviously, that didn’t happen as the Bengals had to rely on Brandon LaFell and Tyler Kroft as secondary receiving options with star tight end Tyler Eifert also sidelined for much of the season.

At his best, Ross has the game-changing speed that can take the top off any defense. But after his dud of a rookie year, he still has some way to go to prove that his blinding speed can actually translate into genuine production in the NFL like it did during college.