Christian Ponder Injury: QB's Injury Woes Mean Vikings Must Take Andrew Luck

Normally when you draft a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft, you start gearing him up to be your franchise quarterback down the line.

That's what the Minnesota Vikings have been doing with No. 12 overall pick Christian Ponder this season. After handing him the reins over veteran Donovan McNabb, the Vikings have been giving him valuable game experience as he tries to progress in the pros.

But after sustaining a concussion in Saturday's game against the Washington Redskins, Ponder was held out of the game, a game that he needed to prove he belonged in the NFL.

Ponder's career started off well. He nearly rallied the Vikings over the Green Bay Packers in his debut. He beat fellow rookie Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers the following week.

But since then the Vikings had lost six consecutive games headed into Saturday's contest.

Said Ponder before his final two games, via 1500 ESPN:

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"They are crucial (games). They're huge. Going into the offseason, we've got to finish strong. We've got to put in two solid performances and our goal is to win those two games to kind of have a springboard going into the offseason. We want to close out this 2011 season in a positive way."

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Now, the question is, if the Vikings land the No. 1 overall pick, will they draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who is considered by many to be the second coming of Peyton Manning?

It's a tough question. Ponder has shown some progress this season, but it's clear he still needs time to develop. In short, the Vikings don't know for sure if he is their franchise quarterback at this point.

The allure of landing Luck is hard to pass by. He has the ability of becoming a longtime Pro Bowler and has all the skills to excel in the NFL, even if he isn't given a playoff-caliber team to work with.

In that sense, I think the Vikings would have to defy tradition and grab a second quarterback in the first round in consecutive years.

If Luck wasn't one of the best quarterback prospects to declare in years, I wouldn't recommend this strategy. But Luck is who he is, a can't-miss prospect.

If the Vikings land him at No. 1 overall, I think you have a quarterback competition between him and Ponder to start next season, and see who distances himself.

Ponder simply hasn't shown enough to be granted immunity.