4 Things the Indianapolis Colts Could Do with No. 1 Pick in 2012 NFL Draft

The situation that the Colts find themselves in is absolutely fascinating to me. What are the odds that their Hall of Fame quarterback, who was on pace to challenge Brett Favre's consecutive games-played record, would miss the entire season because of a neck injury in the same year the most highly-coveted quarterback prospect since John Elway enters the draft?

The Colts will have quite an interesting problem on their hands. Do they just take Andrew Luck? How much loyalty do they owe to Peyton Manning? What will the fan reaction be?

Here are four scenarios that could play out for the Colts with the first pick in the draft.

Take Andrew Luck, Have Him Sit Behind Manning

Assuming Manning's neck heals in time, the Colts can just take Luck and have him sit and learn behind the games greatest signal-caller and learn what it takes to be great. Meanwhile, Peyton will get another chance to try to bring the Colts another championship. 

Manning has already said that he is "okay" with the Colts drafting a quarterback in the draft, but it will certainly be interesting to see if Manning gives Luck the "Favre" treatment.

Trade the Pick

This is probably the most unlikely of scenarios, but this year's top pick, especially with the new rookie wage scale, is maybe the most valuable pick in NFL history. They can not only get an entire draft for this pick, but they could also probably get more first-round pick in the future on top of that. 

If they do trade the pick, they could still get a great prospect like Barkley or Robert Griffin III, and still have a ton of picks to rebuild their team. This year has exposed a lot holes in the Colts' roster, and perhaps collecting a ton of talent across the whole roster may be an option worth exploring. 

Take Andrew Luck, Trade Peyton Manning

This is probably the most likely scenario. If the Colts believe that Andrew Luck is really the guy everyone thinks he is, having Manning and Luck on the same roster could be very ugly, and they will want to get Luck on the field as soon as possible, just like Manning dd in his rookie year. 

The value for Manning will rely directly upon his health: If he can play, any team that is even close to contention has to be interested; rarely does a player of Manning caliber even come close to the trade market. There is also the fact that the Colts will still owe Manning a lot of money if they trade him.

Take Andrew Luck, Clean House

This is not going to happen, but if owner Jim Irsay wanted to get rid of the Polian regime, this is the time to do it. The Polians have drafted terribly over the past few years, and it is the reason why the Colts are staring 0-16 in the face. 

With a new face of the franchise, bringing in a new set of football minds will allow this team to be built around Luck from scratch. This move would be drastic, but it might be the right one in the long run.