2012 NFL Draft: If Colts Get the No. 1 Overall Pick They Need to Trade It

The Indianapolis Colts need to trade away their first-round draft pick if it indeed ends up being the No. 1 overall pick with a loss to the Jaguars this Sunday, and here’s why.

I know Andrew Luck is great, and the thought of him being able to learn under Colt’s franchise quarterback Peyton Manning is certainly enticing, but it isn't the move that the Colts need to make.

With USC quarterback Matt Barkley announcing his return to the ranks of college football, the Colts can risk trading away their No. 1 pick, receiving a high first-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft, in hopes of being able to secure Barkley.

The Colts are confident that Peyton Manning will be back next year, and if they truly believe so, there is no reason to draft a quarterback right now that will just ride the bench for the next few years.

With the No. 1 pick most likely resulting in the drafting of Andrew Luck, the Colt’s pick holds exponentially more value this year than it would in other years.  It isn’t unreasonable to think that the Colts could trade it away for a second- and third-round pick next year to a team who desperately needs a franchise quarterback, like the Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks or even the Dallas Cowboys. 

It is also reasonable to think that the Colts could move down in the draft by trading the No. 1 overall pick to a team like the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns or even the Minnesota Vikings.  By trading down, the Colts would be able to grab another 2012 draft pick, most likely a second- or third-round pick, while still being able to grab a potential franchise quarterback like Landry Jones or Robert Griffin III this year.

I know Stanford’s Andrew Luck is one of the greatest pro prospects of the last decade, but so were JaMarcus Russell, Tim Couch and David Carr, and look how that worked out for the those teams. 

I’m not comparing Andrew Luck to any of those quarterbacks, but I am saying that drafting a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick is oftentimes a risky move, especially when you still have an elite franchise quarterback on your roster. 

I know a lot of Colts fans are salivating at the possibility of having Andrew Luck learn from Peyton Manning throughout the next few seasons if the Colts do indeed draft him.  But let me remind you that learning from one of the all-time greats doesn’t mean that Luck will automatically be the next Peyton Manning. If that was guaranteed to happen, Curtis Painter would have been a pro-bowl quarterback this year, but we all know how his season played out. 

The perfect scenario, in my opinion, for the Colts is if they could trade down in the draft to the Cleveland Browns or the Washington Redskins spot and use that pick to draft Landry Jones or Robert Griffin III.

The Colts could then use the subsequent picks they’d receive from trading down in the draft to move back into the first round and draft Baylor wide out Kendall Wright or South Carolina wide out Alshon Jeffery, both of whom could easily develop into Marvin Harrison’s replacement in the next year or two. 

Drafting Andrew Luck doesn’t secure anything for the Indianapolis Colts other than having an interesting storyline going into the 2012 NFL season.  If the Colts are able trade away their No. 1 overall pick and still draft a potential franchise quarterback and get another elite talent at a skill position, they would be much better off, especially if Peyton Manning truly plans on returning to the gridiron next year. 

Who knows, maybe the Colts will shock us all and hold on to the pick and draft a tackle?  But if they plan on using that pick to draft Andrew Luck, they would be making a mistake.

The Colts should use the leverage they would have with the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft to get as much for it as they possibly can in hopes of securing a better future for their franchise.