If Peyton Manning Is Healthy, Colts Have Too Many Needs to Draft Andrew Luck

If Peyton Manning is indeed healthy and can play, the Indianapolis Colts simply cannot afford to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft. Sitting at 0-12 and staring straight into the eyes of a winless season, Indianapolis is almost guaranteed to get the top pick in this year's draft, and today we finally have confirmation that Luck will indeed be leaving college after this season.

Manning seems to think he will be ready to return at full strength next season and if that is the case, the Colts simply cannot draft Luck. It would be a complete waste of resources to spend that kind of money on a player who would be sitting for at least two seasons.

The Colts currently rank 29th in the NFL in total offense (293.1 yards per game) and 28th in total defense (387.1 yards per game). While they currently have a big hole at quarterback, that will be filled by Manning's return.

What the Colts should do is essentially hold the top pick for ransom. Even if that means actually drafting Luck and then auctioning him off to the highest bidder, they need to stockpile picks and fill out a terribly thin roster.

Indianapolis needs major help along the offensive and defensive lines and the team's secondary is an absolute mess. Besides, if the Colts trade down, they could still get a quarterback of the future later in the draft. There could be as many as five signal-callers taken in the first round this year so even if they pass on Luck, they could maneuver around to select Manning's successor later.

There are plenty of extremely talented players available in the 2012 draft, and if the Colts believe Manning will be healthy, they need to trade out of the top spot and fill their other needs.