As expected, this was no day for surprises.
Really, how could there be surprises? After all, we were talking about Day 1 of the 2012 jaguars.com reader mock draft, which meant we were talking about who the Indianapolis Colts might possibly, just-maybe choose with the No. 1 overall selection.
If you follow the NFL at all – and even if you don't, perhaps – the choice was pretty obvious:
Andrew Luck, quarterback, Stanford.
That was what we expected, so instead of perusing the comments for viable options for the franchise's first No. 1 overall selection since 1998 when they selected another relatively high-profile quarterback, we first perused it for the wittiest comments.
Not surprisingly, there were a few.
"With the first pick, the Colts select John Brantley (QB, Florida)," JaguarsGator 9 wrote.
JagaursGator9 quickly added:
"That was the sarcasm font. I think we all know the pick here is Luck."
Comedy aside, several readers took the process seriously enough to raise the question of whether or not the Colts would actually use the selection.
"I wonder just what it would take to pry this pick out of Indianapolis' hands," Nathan Hughes wrote, which is an interesting question to ponder . . .
Just what would it take? And would the Colts actually entertain trade offers?
The Rams at No. 2 are absolutely entertaining such things, with new General Manager Les Snead on Monday telling Pro Football Talk there's about a 90 percent chance the team would trade the selection. That trade almost certainly would be with a team coveting Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.
The Rams can afford to trade the pick because they like Sam Bradford as their quarterback of the future.
The Colts presumably won't trade because Peyton Manning is no longer the quarterback of the present or the future, but of the past. That is expected to be finalized by Thursday, when the Colts must decide whether to pay Manning a $28 million bonus or allow him to become a free agent.
It is widely expected the latter will happen. Because of that, while musing on what the Colts could get for the chance to take Luck is good pre-draft fodder, the reality is there is no price. Colts Owner Jim Irsay believes to his core in the franchise quarterback concept. He saw what having Manning did for the franchise, and saw what not having John Elway did to the franchise before that.
The chance to get this generation's Guy? That's something Irsay won't pass on.
The readers absolutely agreed, and many didn't like it one bit.
"Andrew Luck is the most complete player in this draft class," John Hill wrote. "He has all the intangibles of a Franchise Quarterback and the Colts would be 'lucky' to have him. Luck has the athleticism of a Tim Tebow and the intelligence of a Peyton Manning. I hate to see the Colts get a player like Luck right after they have had Peyton for over a decade, but it seems that is how the cookie crumbled."
And credit the readers for this. Not everyone was willing to give up on the idea the Colts might shock the NFL world.
"RGIII," Jensen Angelloz wrote. "The Colts like his charisma and mobility."
That's reportedly true. But it's almost certainly not true enough to move the Colts off Luck. So, forget the trade – and forget RGIII here, too.
Write it down. The obvious choice in this case is also the right choice and indeed, the only choice, which means in the 2012 jaguars.com reader mock draft Luck goes No. 1 overall to Indianapolis. Officially, the chart can begin here:
1.Indianapolis | Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford.
That means we move on to Day 2, and we'll throw out a choice just as obvious: Griffin of Baylor. What's not obvious is who we'll throw it out to because while the Rams almost certainly will trade, their trading partner is not yet determined.
Which is as good a topic for debate as any, come to think of it. Because we all pretty much assume whoever is choosing No. 2 will choose Griffin, let the debate be over what team will do the choosing. We'll throw out Washington, which is as good a choice as any, but let's hear your thoughts. Cleveland? Dare we say . . . Jacksonville? Miami?
Have at it.
