The Andrew Luck Sweepstakes

A quarter of the way through the 2011 NFL season, there are a number of teams that appear to be in prime position to land the best quarterback prospect to enter the NFL since Peyton Manning. The Andrew Luck sweepstakes is guaranteed to be the talk of the offseason, especially with so many teams lacking a franchise-quality starting quarterback. For the lucky team that manages to secure the No. 1 overall pick, their future is destined to change for the better, as Luck is considered by scouts around the country to be as close to a sure-thing at the quarterback position as you'll ever find. Here's a look at the teams that have the best chance of landing Luck and how he would fit into their plans for the next decade:

Indianapolis Colts – It's awfully fitting that in the one year that the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning will enter the league, Manning himself is out for the season with a neck injury, which could open up the opportunity for the Colts to draft his replacement. By all accounts, Manning is very likely done for the season, and I've been told that there's a very realistic chance that Manning may never play again. With that said, if Indianapolis manages to land the first pick in the draft, they have to take Luck. Manning's long-term future, even if he does return for a year or two, does not look good because of this neck injury. Having the opportunity to not only secure a quarterback to replace him, but to have the ability to come close to adequately replacing him would be extraordinary, and would make the Colts by far the luckiest (no pun intended) team in the NFL, to land two franchise quarterbacks in a 20-year span.

Seattle Seahawks – People won't say it out loud, however behind closed doors, those in league circles have hinted at the fact that the Seattle Seahawks signed Tarvaris Jackson to be their starting quarterback this offseason with the anticipation that he would be bad enough to land them their franchise quarterback in 2012. For head coach Pete Carroll, having coached against Luck while at USC, there's a belief that he would absolutely love to have the chance to land the Stanford quarterback and let him battle against his former head coach Jim Harbaugh twice a year. Carroll has enough job security, especially after making the playoffs and beating New Orleans last year, that one down year in 2011 won't hurt him. Even if Seattle doesn't land Luck, they are the favorites to come away with Carroll's former star with the Trojans in Matt Barkley. The Seahawks may have a great plan in place; either that, they could luck into a great plan.

Minnesota Vikings – A poorly assembled team from top to bottom, the Minnesota Vikings have aging veterans coupled with young, developing talent. They had hoped that Donovan McNabb could give them some stability at the quarterback position despite putting the worst offensive line and one of the worst receiving corps in the league on the field. Add in the fact that they reached for a quarterback in the 2011 NFL Draft, and are planning on putting an injury prone signal caller into the lineup behind a rotating door of

an offensive line, and there is plenty of reason for concern here. After starting 0-4, the Vikings need to make the move to Ponder within the next month to be able to determine whether or not he is the true answer at the position. I am not of the belief that you can judge a rookie quarterback based on his first handful of games in the league, however I do believe that in 6-10 games you should be able to tell whether or not Ponder has what it takes to lead the team in the future and to the Super Bowl, which is the goal of every team. If he struggles and Minnesota lands the first pick in the draft, I have no doubt in my mind that you take Andrew Luck and then figure out what to do with Ponder. Think about it this way: would you be willing to give up two first round picks to ensure that you have a sure-thing in finding a franchise quarterback? The answer is yes, which is why if the Vikings somehow get the first pick, they'd be making the biggest mistake in the history of franchise if they passed on Luck. For a team that can't seem to find the answer at the quarterback position, landing Luck would solve some of the myriad of question marks that the Vikings have on their team.

Kansas City Chiefs – Word on the street around the NFL is that the combination of Todd Haley and quarterback Matt Cassel won't survive this season. Although they managed to beat the inept Vikings at home this weekend, the remainder of the season doesn't look quite as promising, especially after seeing the blowup between Haley and Cassel on the sidelines on Sunday. Although under a big $63 million contract right now, Matt Cassel will have collected about $40 million of the contract by the end of the 2011 season. With a salary of $5.5 million in 2012, he could easily be cut if the Chiefs land the No. 1 overall pick. Luck, and potentially a new head coach, could give the Chiefs a new direction while also having key pieces (Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe, Tony Moeaki, Jonathan Baldwin, etc.) to lead the team to success very quickly.

Miami Dolphins – The Miami Dolphins have started the season 0-4 and it is expected that the team will have a new head coach for the 2012 season. With that said, there's a growing assumption that with a new coach, the team could also bring in a new starting quarterback. Starter Chad Henne is just 23rd in the NFL in quarterback efficiency rating through the first four weeks of the season. With this season being his last legitimate chance to prove worthy of being the player to lead the team into the future, many insiders around the league expect the Dolphins to attempt to replace him again in the upcoming offseason, especially if the current season continues to spiral downward. Landing Andrew Luck would give the Miami franchise their first legitimate replacement for Dan Marino, who retired after the 1999 season. Finally finding stability at the quarterback position would be enormous for this team, especially if a new head coach is leading the team next season.

Denver Broncos – A very confusing situation in Denver at the quarterback position, Kyle Orton simply has not gotten the job done as the team's starter through the first four weeks of the 2011 season. Leading the league in interceptions with six so far this year, Orton's 80.9 quarterback efficiency rating is good for

just 18th in the NFL. With the assumption that Orton is not the answer for the future, the only remaining question is whether second-year player Tim Tebow is. Although the fan base is clamoring for Tebow to start, you get the idea that that is the last thing that the Denver front office and coaching staff wants at this point. If their season continues to go as it has (1-3), Tebow may get his chance at some point this season. However, sources have told me that general manager John Elway, a Stanford alum, would love to have the opportunity to draft Andrew Luck, which would give the team further stability at the position, and allow for them to part ways with either Orton or Tebow, if not both of them. While Denver may win too many games to have the chance to draft Luck, he's certainly a player they would snatch up if they somehow managed to secure the first overall pick.

Cleveland Browns – Although the team is 2-2 through the first four games, Cleveland's two wins are over teams that have yet to win a game (Miami, Indianapolis). Last offseason, president Mike Holmgren stated that the Browns would still look at the quarterback position despite Colt McCoy's strong rookie season. Through the first four games of the 2011 season, McCoy ranks 24th in the league in passing efficiency at 78.7. While there is no immediate need to upgrade the position, if Cleveland can't beat any other teams than one's that have yet to win a game, it could be a long year for the Browns. It seems unlikely that they'd get the first pick in the draft, however if the Browns managed to land the first pick in the draft, you'd have to think that they wouldn't hesitate to draft Andrew Luck to help lead them into the future.