Indianapolis Colts: How Will Andrew Luck Do as Peyton's Successor?

The answer has finally been revealed.

ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported that the Indianapolis Colts, who have had the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft since the beginning of last year (putting that lightly), will in fact select Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first pick of next week's draft.

The Colts will take Luck over Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, who, barring anymore drastic and absurd trades with the second pick, will be heading to the Washington Redskins right after Indy takes Luck.

Let the debate continue further.

The conversation could go on for days, weeks, months or even years into their NFL careers on who the Colts should've taken between Luck and RG3. But the fact of the matter is, Indy has been eyeing Luck to be their new quarterback the minute that Peyton Manning was confirmed to be done for the year last season.

Again, let the debate ensue even further. But discussing whether or not Manning should've stayed and the Colts should've traded down would take another 500 words in itself, so we won't go there.

It is what it is, and now the Colts are entering their rebuilding stage with what some people are calling one of the best quarterback prospects to come out of college since John Elway, who also came out of Stanford. 

Don't you love that that's the only comparison that can be made in that regard? No one will compare him to anybody else? Well, whatever then.

So, how will Luck do in his first year as the heir apparent to one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time?

There's no doubt that Luck will have the biggest amount of pressure bestowed upon him the minute he walks the stage of Radio City Music Hall to shake Roger Goodell's hand. It's tough to recall the last time a quarterback had to step in right away with pressure as enormous as it will be for Luck.

The last quarterback that can really make a claim to that type of pressure would have to be Matt Ryan. Other than that, there's really no one who's had to be called upon to replace a legend and a future hall-of-fame quarterback.

If there's one good possible outcome to Luck's pressure, he has a chance to duplicate other rookie quarterbacks who have come before him and made an impact in their first years under center.

Ryan was already mentioned, as he took the Atlanta Falcons to new heights and a playoff appearance in his first year. Joe Flacco, who was the second quarterback taken behind Ryan in 2008, took the Baltimore Ravens to the AFC Championship in his first year under center.

Cam Newton was drafted last year with the expectations that he would be exactly like Tim Tebow in terms of his mechanics. But the former Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn stepped in from Week 1 and led the Carolina Panthers to a four-win improvement from the year before.

So if there's anything about Luck, and Griffin III as well, it is that nothing is for certain regarding how they'll perform in their first seasons. Luck won't be asked to make the playoffs in his first year, and it's pretty clear that RG3 won't be asked to do the same.

But don't be surprised if the Colts win more games than many expect. Obviously it'll be more than two wins, but the number may shock you.

The schedule doesn't seem favorable for Indy by any stretch of the imagination, especially when the first game of Luck's career will be inside Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears. But then the Colts have two winnable games against Minnesota and Jacksonville at Lucas Oil right after that.

Then things get tricky in the final 12 games, with games against Green Bay after the bye week, on the road against the Jets, against Tom Brady and the Patriots, at Detroit and two games in three weeks against reigning division champion Houston.

Looking at the schedule, it wouldn't come as a surprise to see Luck and the Colts put up five or six wins and calling it a successful season in Indy. The schedule is just too tough to put any higher expectations on this guy who has all the gifts in the world that a quarterback could want.

Perhaps this was fate that Andrew Luck fell into the lap of Jim Irsay and the Colts, but they probably wouldn't want it any other way.

And I'm sure that Reggie Wayne is a happy man today, as well.

How do you think Andrew Luck will do in his first year as the new quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts? Leave your thoughts in the comments section. Or tweet me your thoughts on what you think might happen. @DannyWebster21