2012 NFL Draft: Colts Foolish Not to Consider Robert Griffin III

With the first overall selection in this year’s draft, the Indianapolis Colts are going to draft a great quarterback. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are the most highly rated quarterback duo to come out of college since Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning in 1998’s draft. Since 1999, there have not been two QBs taken as the first and second picks. In the 12 drafts since then, nine quarterbacks have gone No. 1.

What I’m getting at is that NFL executives understand the importance of finding a star quarterback.  Gone are the days of Trent Dilfer managing the game and relying on an impenetrable defense on the way to a Super Bowl ring.

That said, we have been hearing about Andrew Luck’s status as a surefire number one pick for two years now. So long, perhaps, that the vast majority of football fans and analysts haven’t properly considered whether the Colts franchise would be better off with Griffin.

On NFL.com’s Mock Draft Central, 12 of 12 experts have the Indianapolis Colts selecting Andrew Luck. Our own Matt Miller says “Luck is the best quarterback prospect to come out since John Elway. The Colts would be crazy to pass on their savior.”

But would they?

Look at what Cam Newton has done to Carolina’s franchise.  He came with so much more than simply great quarterbacking talent. He brought swagger. He abhorred the losing mentality and even called out the organization for that mentality. AS A ROOKIE!

On the football field, the man scored 14 rushing touchdowns in addition to obliterating the record for rookie passing. (If you haven’t seen his 50-yard touchdown run against the Bucs, I personally recommend that you stop reading this article and find it on YouTube.)

Carolina is nothing like the team that used to be a preseason fill-in victory—and all of this happened because of the arrival of one player, in just one season.

In the first half of the season, I predict Luck will outproduce Griffin. What will make Griffin successful as he develops, though, will be his ability to pick up huge chunks of yardage at a time. (Thanks to Newton’s ability to do this, the previously anemic Panthers offense amassed an NFL-best 80 plays of 20 yards or more last season.)

Robert Griffin III is already an even more accurate deep-thrower than Cam, and ran the 40-yard dash .18 seconds faster. RG3 is a rare, true dual-threat quarterback. Often, we call running quarterbacks “dual-threat” when they can’t throw the football with any kind of consistency. RG3 can both throw and run at the highest level.

He has the ability to consistently make the kind of plays that change football games. He is a game-planning nightmare that will open up opportunities for the players around him. He brings both the positive mentality and magnetism required to turn around a fallen franchise.

The Indianapolis Colts will be remiss if they miss out on RG3.