As the NFL midpoint approaches, many teams, professional and collegiate alike, have found a silver lining in their otherwise disappointing seasons. One such silver lining is Stanford All-American QB Andrew Luck. He is widely considered the number one pick in the 2012 draft, and he comes with a lot of promise. Many analysts and experts have compared Luck to All-Pros such as Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, John Elway and others. He is wildly intelligent, has the rocket arm, as well as the accuracy, the size and the poise to be an NFL poster boy.
Had Luck entered the draft last year, he would have easily been selected number one overall rather than Heisman winner, Cam Newton. Many people were shocked at his decision to stay in school, but they figured he’d still be the hands-down number one pick this following year.
Now in 2011, Luck is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and has begun to build the hype for his future in the pros. You could say that the Andrew Luck sweepstakes are in full swing, and one could even contend that the worst teams in the NFL are now battling for the right to draft Luck. An online campaign entitled “Suck For Luck” has also hit the web, and has become a popular trending topic on Twitter. With all that being said, let’s look at the current teams who have to lose the most to eventually gain the most.
1. Indianapolis Colts (0-7) Perhaps the most intriguing landing spot for Luck lies in Indianapolis. As everyone knows, the face of the Colts franchise has been Peyton Manning for the last 13 seasons. Now after four MVPs and a Super Bowl victory, Manning is undoubtedly thought of as one of the top five quarterbacks to ever take snaps from center. Now that Manning has missed all of 2011 after three neck surgeries, the Colts are struggling to get in the win column without him. Manning is certainly not getting any younger at age 35, and the Colts may have to think about a move in a new direction. Manning still has three or four solid years in him, but it’s something for them to consider. Even if it means trading the future Hall of Famer.
2. Miami Dolphins (0-6) After 17 seasons with Hall of Famer Dan Marino at the helm, the Dolphins have since seen 16 quarterbacks start games for them since 1999 and have yet to settle on a winner. The Dolphins don’t only want Luck; the Dolphins need Luck. The once proud franchise has slipped from the ranks of the elite, and has struggled to even make the playoffs much since the departure of Marino. Andrew Luck would bring some stability to South Beach, and potentially bring them back to glory.
3. St. Louis Rams (0-6) Now that the Rams have their quarterback in Sam Bradford, who they took number one overall in 2010, the Rams have little use for Luck. The only thing that the number one pick could do for the Rams is put them in the driver’s seat for a potential trade. This could earn St. Louis multiple draft picks in return, and they could fill other needs with compensation.
4. Arizona Cardinals (1-5), Minnesota Vikings (1-6), Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) All three of these franchises just recently acquired their assumed quarterbacks of the future in Kevin Kolb, Christian Ponder, and Blaine Gabbert respectively. So similarly to the Rams, these teams could expect something solid in return if they were to land the number one pick and trade it away for value.
Marcel Shipp • Nov 1, 2011 at 10:56 am
no one remembers the “Suck for Shipp” campaign of 2001