It all seemed so straightforward. The team with the worst record in the NFL would end up with the best quarterback in college football. Andrew Luck of the Stanford Cardinal would simply waltz into the arms of the worst team in the league and resurrect their franchise, and currently there are more than enough contenders to ensure that.
Luck is not happy about the whole campaign though. He gave these comments to Judy Battista of the New York Times.
"I am aware of it," said Luck, who becomes awkward and uncomfortable whenever the N.F.L. is brought up. "A couple of guys told me about it. I think it’s stupid. Simply put."
More importantly though, he might go further than that. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
Albert Breer of NFL.com reports that some in league circles are concerned that Luck and his father, WVU athletics director Oliver Luck (who once was the 44th overall pick in the draft), could make it known that Andrew doesn’t want to play, or simply won’t play, for the team that holds the top pick in the draft, in the hopes of forcing a trade.
"Absolutely. I’ve heard that for the last two years," an unnamed scout told Breer. "There’s no question that it could be a Manning thing all over again."
The "Manning thing" refers to the 2004 draft. Archie Manning, former NFL quarterback, made it clear that Eli didn’t want to play for the Chargers, who held the first pick in the draft. So the Chargers took Eli and then traded him to the Giants, who had taken Philip Rivers with the fourth overall pick. (As legend has it, Archie took the heat for the move, even though it was Eli who desperately didn’t want to play for the Chargers.)
There's no doubt that the majority of teams Luck could be drafted to are in considerably dire straits. The Dolphins and Jaguars need a lot more help, and the Broncos are in total rebuilding mode. Right now it looks as if among the stragglers, only the Vikings, Cardinals and Rams would have the pieces for an offense that Luck would like to lead.
It makes you wonder if Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers will throw their hat into the ring to try and get Luck. Alex Smith has proven to be adequate, but Luck could make San Francisco instant Super Bowl contenders for the rest of the decade.
No doubt there's going to be a lot more interest in who can get Andrew Luck long after someone clinches getting the number one pick.