National Football League

Draft sure to get wild after top two

Published Apr. 26, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

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Alex Marvez

Any top prospect who says he isn’t nervous entering the first round of the NFL Draft is fibbing.

That includes the only two players who know for sure where they are headed.

“Even if you’re Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III, you’re going to have some butterflies,” said Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, who was the No. 2 overall draft pick last year. “Somebody is expecting you to come in and change the whole organization.”

Those “somebodies” are the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins. They identified Luck and Griffin respectively as their new franchise quarterbacks long before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will introduce them on stage Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall.

Despite such job security, neither passer has taken his draft standing for granted. For example, Luck and Griffin both said they haven’t begun house-hunting.

“I still worked hard,” Luck said Wednesday at a pre-draft NFL event in Manhattan. “I still felt like I had things to prove. But maybe it does give you a little more comfort knowing where you’re going to end up."

Nobody else has that luxury.

Starting with the third overall selection held by the Minnesota Vikings, there is the kind of uncertainty that can wreck a Peter Schrager mock draft faster than Stephen Hill runs the 40-yard dash.

Minnesota is trying to trade down to accumulate more picks. There is a possibility that Cleveland (No. 4) or Tampa Bay (No. 5) would become a willing partner to land Alabama running back Trent Richardson.

Even if the Vikings stay at No. 3, the choice isn’t a lock, as once thought. Minnesota could still select Southern California tackle Matt Kalil, but Vikings general manager Rick Spielman has said Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon and Louisiana State cornerback Morris Claiborne are also strong considerations.

This may all be a smokescreen to entice a team interested in any of those three players to move up. But even if it isn’t, nothing is clear about how the top of the first round will unfold except where Luck and Griffin are destined.

Luck was long projected as the No. 1 overall pick. He did nothing to change that lofty standing during a standout junior season at Stanford.

Some fans of quarterback-needy teams that went in the tank early last season hoped their teams were bad enough to secure the top draft spot. The Colts won the “Suck for Luck” sweepstakes by finishing 2-14 with an injured Peyton Manning watching helplessly from the sideline.

“We’ve got a great one for years to come,” new Colts head coach Chuck Pagano said earlier this week.

Pagano and the Colts had better be right. Otherwise, they might be kicking themselves for passing on Griffin.

A surprising Heisman Trophy win — he beat Luck by 158 first-place votes — and stellar junior campaign at Baylor sent Griffin’s pre-draft stock soaring.

Interest in Griffin was so great that a scramble for the No. 2 pick ensued long before most pre-draft trades are made. Washington outmaneuvered Cleveland in a mid-March deal with the St. Louis Rams, who already have committed to Sam Bradford as its signal-caller.

The bold move came at a heavy price as the Redskins ceded their own 2012, 2013 and 2014 first-round picks. Washington head coach Mike Shanahan will tell you it’s a worthwhile investment.

He would know from having played with a broken-down Donovan McNabb and journeymen Rex Grossman and John Beck under center for two fruitless seasons.

When asked Wednesday during a pre-draft news conference what he likes about Griffin, Shanahan replied, “I like everything.”

So why aren’t the Colts selecting Griffin?

Predominantly a pocket passer, Luck is considered more of a sure thing on the NFL level from his mastery of a pro-style offense at Stanford. And after being spoiled by Manning’s presence for 14 seasons, it’s understandable why Colts owner Jim Irsay would want a replacement who draws such favorable comparisons.

Like Manning, Luck comes from a football family (his dad, Oliver, was an NFL quarterback for five seasons in the 1980s). Luck attended the annual Manning family passing camp while in college. Luck’s answers and cadence even sound Manning-esque when he speaks to the media.

Griffin appears better suited for Shanahan’s West Coast-style offense. With his blazing speed and ability to pass on the run, Griffin has left opposing defenses spinning like tops when trying to defend him.

The differences between the two quarterbacks don’t stop on the field. Not that Luck is a wallflower, but Griffin’s charisma is off the charts.

“Honestly, we’re almost complete opposites,” said Griffin, who befriended Luck when both were Heisman finalists. “Andrew is more of a reserved guy. He doesn’t like talking very much. I don’t like talking very much, either, but everyone wants to hear me talk so I have to do those types of things. I guess I’m a little bit more inviting.”

Luck and Griffin do share this in common: Both will be linked in NFL draft history like other quarterbacks taken with the top two picks, such as Manning and Ryan Leaf (1998) and Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer (1993).

In those cases, one quarterback (Manning and Bledsoe) enjoyed a far more successful NFL career than the other (Leaf and Mirer). Griffin, though, said he doesn’t consider himself a Luck rival.

“We’re both great quarterbacks, and we’re both going to do what we have to do to be successful,” Luck said “I’ve always told him I’ll be a fan. I’ll never root against him.

“I want him to be successful. I can’t speak for him, but I’m pretty sure he wants me to be successful, too.”

Luck and Griffin have already succeeded on one front. They will forever be known as the players who sat atop their draft class.

Von Miller and Robert Griffin III were interviewed by Alex Marvez and co-host Jim Miller on Sirius XM NFL Radio.
 

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