2012 NFL Draft: Robert Griffin III and Instant Locker Room Leaders

Often, we spend time dissecting game film, discussing athleticism and wondering how far character issues will drop talented prospects in the draft.

But what about the players who will bring leadership to the teams that draft them? What about those guys that will play well in the locker room and represent their organizations with class?

Let's give some props to those guys. I've identified three players who I think will be great leaders in the NFL for years to come.

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

Countless times in his career, Andrew Luck has proven his leadership. I've seen him battle through tough days. I've seen him console players who've made mistakes in crunch time rather than become frustrated with them or display poor body language.

He carries himself well off the field, he's an intelligent, hard-working player and he generally makes the plays that are presented to him.

Guys will follow him because Luck will show up prepared, give you everything he has and never blame anyone but himself in a loss, even if he doesn't deserve a lick of blame.

Luck is the definition of a leader. From day one, he'll be a leader for the Indianapolis Colts.

Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

There are few players with the dedication, intensity and sheer competitiveness of Kuechly, and there's a reason he wracked up obscene amounts of tackles in his three years starting at linebacker for Boston College.

I recently read a piece on the prospect by Jeffri Chadiha of ESPN and two excerpts stuck out to me. First, Kuechly proved to me he'll be a leader at the next level with this quote:

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Said Kuechly: "'Instinctive player' is something that pops up for a lot of people [who talk about him]. That, coupled with I think I'm a smart player. I do a pretty good job preparing myself. That's something I take pride in. I can point at different guys and let them know what they're doing if they have questions. And doing that, and knowing what everyone is doing, you can play faster."

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And a huge reason he'll earn respect from his teammates is his dedication to constantly improving:

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When Kuechly sat down with McGovern following that second year, the coach asked his star linebacker what he wanted to do to improve as a junior. Kuechly's response: "I want to know the defense as well as you do." Kuechly also became notorious in college for not doing anything that would hinder his game. Whether that meant avoiding soda or fried foods, his entire attitude boiled down to one central belief: If it didn't make him better, it wasn't worth doing.

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By the time I finished that article, I loved Kuechly as a prospect. He's a winner, he'll be a winner, and he's the sort of player I would want in my locker room.

Linebackers have to be willing to embrace a leadership role in a defense, as they often are tasked with making calls on the field. Kuechly won't need to embrace that role; it's already how he approaches the game.

Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

You can take all of that "selfish" talk and forget about it—Griffin is a high-character guy who will be a very good leader at the next level. He responded to the rumors of his selfishness by taking the high road, for one (via Will Brinson of CBS):

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"You could say [I'm] surprised, but you never know," Griffin told CBSSports.com. "It's just when the draft gets closer, everybody's going to try and find something wrong with you to try and pull you down, so I'm not going to sit here and argue that, well that guy is dead wrong. But I think the people that know me -- and even in the people in the media have seen -- know I'm not a selfish guy. You know you don't have to fight your own battles -- let other people fight them for you.

"That's about all I can say about that. I heard it, but it's not something I'm going to address."

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It's odd that this sort of report would come out this close to the draft, especially when it seems obvious Luck is going to be the top pick and Griffin will be the second. What team or scout would have anything to gain by leaking this?

One way or another, leadership won't be an issue for Griffin, even if he is a little selfish. All that matters is he lead the troops each Sunday, command respect in the huddle and work his butt off during the week.

And all indications are he'll do just that.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets light the lamp like Danny Briere.