2012 NFL Mock Draft: Which NFL Team Will Suck to Win Andrew Luck Sweepstakes?

We're barely seven weeks into the 2011 NFL season and teams are already lining up around the block to pick up Andrew Luck.

And for good reason. Luck, the consensus top prospect in the 2012 NFL Draft, is about as close to a sure thing at the quarterback position as there's been since 1998, when a young Tennessee Volunteer by the name of Peyton Manning came into the league.

Rumor has it, he's had a pretty good career so far.

At this point, there are still about nine teams that have a shot to win the "Suck For Luck" Sweepstakes, though only a handful of teams can realistically lay claim to that dubious distinction as The Worst Team in the NFL.

For a good cause, of course. 

Three-Fourths of the NFC West

There's no shortage of terrible teams out west that wouldn't mind having the opportunity to draft Andrew Luck.

The Rams, at 0-5, lead the way but there's some question as to whether they would actually do it. They've already invested a ton of money in second-year quarterback Sam Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and he's shown plenty of talent and promise in return, despite having nobody to throw to and a perpetually collapsing pocket.

It certainly wouldn't be the worst problem to have, since it would afford St. Louis the luxury of essentially having a surplus of blue-chip quarterbacks to parlay into a boatload of draft picks and/or young players with which to improve the team.

The Cardinals thought they had a franchise quarterback when they picked up Kevin Kolb from the Eagles this summer, but the experiment hasn't worked out quite as the team had hoped.

Kolb has seemingly gotten worse as the season's gone along, with his QB rating now sitting at 77.2 (28th in the NFL) with six interceptions and five fumbles against just five touchdown passes. Combine Kolb's disappointing performance with a terrible defense and you get an Arizona team at 1-4 that could potentially draft Luck and end up with Kolb as nothing more than an albatross on their roster.

If there's any team in the NFC West that actually needs Andrew Luck, it's the Seahawks. No team deserves the cruel fate of having to choose between Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst under center.

Granted, Jackson had shown flashes this season before getting injured during Seattle's surprising win over the Giants. Seattle's offense isn't going anywhere, but the defense is just good enough to keep Pete Carroll's club out of the NFL's cellar and, as a result, out of reach for Andrew Luck.

Carolina Panthers

This one's simple—no. As in, Cam Newton has proven that he's the future of the Panthers franchise, so, uhhh, no.

Not to mention the fact that Carolina has lost four games by seven points or less, so there should be another few wins waiting in the wings somewhere down the line.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are the only other team in the NFC that has a shot at Luck, albeit without Tila Tequila as the central figure. Leslie Frazier and his staff will have the rest of the season to see if Christian Ponder, the No. 12 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, has what it takes to be the man in Minnesota. 

If the Vikes don't like what they see from Ponder, they can always throw Donovan McNabb back onto the field to crank up their efforts to tank the season. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

Like so many of the NFL's stinkers these days, the Jaguars have a young quarterback of their own in Blaine Gabbert, whom they traded up six spots to select 10th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. Chances are, Jacksonville wouldn't hesitate to pick up Luck if the opportunity presented itself.

That isn't likely to happen, though, seeing as how the 1-5 Jags aren't even the worst team in their own division.

Indianapolis Colts

That distinction belongs to the winless Colts, who have actually played much better since a 34-7 thrashing at Houston in Week 1. Nevertheless, Indy's chances of winning four games are already rather slim, even if Curtis Painter somehow morphs into a slightly-more-than-serviceable quarterback.

Of course, there's still the issue of what to do about Peyton Manning, who should be ready in time to play the 2012 season. He just signed a new five-year, $90-million contract with the Colts in the offseason, which makes the addition of another high-priced quarterback a costly proposition as far as the cap is concerned.

Even so, team owner Jim Irsay has said he'd still consider drafting Luck and sitting him behind Manning, a la Aaron Rodgers serving as Brett Favre's backup in Green Bay. Luck seems like a very level-headed kid, but it's tough to imagine he'd be too happy with the proposition of waiting for a legend to cede the throne.

Hmmm...smells like 1983, when the Colts had the first pick but were rebuffed by a superstar quarterback out of Stanford...

Denver Broncos

...A guy by the name of John Elway, who won two Super Bowls for the Broncos amidst a Hall-of-Fame career, but only after the Colts traded him away. Granted, Elway's situation was much different—he didn't care for then-Colts coach Frank Kush, had no desire to play for what was at the time one of the league's worst franchises and had the option of playing minor league baseball for the New York Yankees as additional leverage.

Denver may not need to force a trade for Luck if things play out the "right" way. Head coach John Fox handed the keys to Tim Tebow after Kyle Orton proved incapable of leading the Broncos effectively. Now, Tebow, the team's first-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, will have the rest of the season to show Fox and Elway, the Executive Vice President of Football Operations in the Mile High City, whether or not he's good enough to be the franchise quarterback the team has long sought.

If Tebow's good, the Broncos will have finished well out of range of the No. 1 pick in 2012.

And if Tebow stinks, then Denver may well have Elway's second coming on its hands.

Miami Dolphins

Then there are the Dolphins. It's tough to imagine any team being worse than Miami for the rest of the season. The Fins have already lost their starting quarterback (Chad Henne) for the season, they have Reggie Bush as a feature 'back and their defense is awful, especially against the pass.

Every week that Tony Sparano still has his job brings the Fins one step closer to the top of the heap in the "Suck For Luck" sweepstakes and, in turn, one step closer to finally finding a successor for Dan Marino.

So Who Will Suck For Luck?

I'm a sucker for poetic parallels in history, so I'd have to go with Luck ending up in Denver. The Broncos made a concerted effort to tank at the deadline, trading away Brandon Lloyd, their top receiver, and trying to do the same with Eddie Royal. Tebow's probably going to stink either way, which will put Denver in position to add Luck, another phenom from Stanford, just in time for the moon to enter the seventh house and Jupiter to align with Mars.

Yes, folks, this is the dawning of Denver's Age of Aquarius.