Andrew Luck: Why Mounting Pressure Won't Result in Huge Rookie Struggles

We're just a couple days away from the NFL draft, and that means we're just a couple days away from hearing Roger Goodell announce Andrew Luck as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported that the Indianapolis Colts have already made up their minds. They want Luck, and they've already told him they're going to take him with the first pick in the draft on Thursday. He's the man they want to build around.

This is not a surprise. Luck has been built up as the next coming of Peyton Manning, so it's not a shock that the Colts would take him to replace none other than Peyton Manning.

As time has gone by, Luck has only gotten more and more pressure heaped on his head. He's gone from being a media darling to something of a media target. Nobody has anything bad to say about him, but assorted "experts" have done their best to locate and expose holes in Luck's game. It's all been a bunch of nonsense, but various critics have done their best to knock Luck down a few pegs.

The pressure will be at its most intense when Luck's name is called on Thursday night. That's when he'll go from being a prospect with tremendous potential to being a professional with a tremendous burden. He'll be tasked with reviving a Colts team that sank in 2011 to lows it hadn't seen in over a decade.

Make no mistake about it: somebody is going to predict failure. After that bandwagon has been created, more and more skeptics will pile on.

I won't be one of them. I believe in Andrew Luck now, and I'll believe in him after he puts on a Colts hat for the first time.

I believe in Luck primarily because I believe he could step under center and play in an NFL game today if need be. Relative to other quarterbacks who enter the draft and start right away, Luck has very few things to learn. He played in a pro-style offense at Stanford, and he's used to reading and adjusting to defenses at the line of scrimmage.

Luck has the brains to be an NFL quarterback. From where I'm sitting, far too many people are overlooking that reality.

Of course, Luck has the physical tools as well. Despite Phil Simms' reservations (see Pro Football Talk), Luck's arm strength is just fine, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with his accuracy. Luck is also a well-above-average athlete, something that could not be said about Peyton Manning when he was coming out of college.

Ah yes, but how much will Luck be capable of doing with the team around him? At last check, the Colts aren't overflowing with talent.

As I recall, neither were the Cardinals.

Luck had a solid offensive line in front of him and an outstanding tight end to throw to in Coby Fleener, but he didn't have a big-time wide receiver to throw to. Stepfan Taylor, Stanford's primary running back, was more of a grinder than a big-play threat.

Despite not having elite toys to play with, Luck was great. The fact that the Colts don't have elite toys won't bother him, as it's not a new situation to him.

Besides, let's give Reggie Wayne a little credit. He's older now, but he managed to haul in 75 receptions for 960 yards this past season—despite the fact he was catching passes from Curly, Larry and Moe.

I don't buy that the pressure of having to be the guy will get to Luck, either. His play helped revive an irrelevant Stanford football program, and he did it while earning a degree in architectural design from one of the toughest universities in the country. By comparison, playing in the NFL won't be so bad.

Anyone who is out to destroy Luck now is simply trying too hard. Anyone who tries to destroy him after he is drafted will be doing the same. The truth of the matter is that Luck has everything he requires to be a good NFL quarterback right away, and he's only going to get better over time.

Luck's not going to let anybody down.