A lot has been made of Andrew Luck’s lack of success under center for the Indianapolis Colts recently. He boasts a 3-9 record in his past 12 starts and is coming off a disastrous loss to the previously winless Jacksonville Jaguars this past week.
As the $123 million face of the franchise, Luck will be the one that reaps the rewards when the team has success. He will also be the face of its failures. That just comes with the territory of playing quarterback in today’s NFL.
Though, there are some out there who would rather question the Colts’ front office and general manager Ryan Grigson for the lack of success in the player personnel department. Former Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne is surely one of these people.
“I honestly think Andrew Luck’s playing pretty good, despite some of the O-line woes that they’re having,” Wayne said Tuesday night, via NFL.com. “A lot of people are wanting to criticize Andrew Luck instead of really, in my opinion, going after what the big problem is. I think that big problem is a lot of the front office decisions. Whether it’s draft picks or it is free-agent picks, they’ve missed on a lot of guys.”
This is certainly a valid point, and one we just made recently on Sportsnaut. It suggests that the Colts’ issues are highlighted by an inept front office rather than a struggling quarterback.
Wayne went on to talk specifically about the Colts’ lack of success in both free agency and the draft. Even a little bit of research points to him being on the right path here.
Dating back to 2013, the year after Indianapolis made Luck the No. 1 overall pick, the draft has not necessarily been the Colts’ friend. That year saw the team select former Florida State EDGE rusher Bjoern Werner in the first round. Playing him out of position as a linebacker, Werner went on to record a total of 6.5 sacks in three seasons with the team.
Not a single member of the 2013 draft class is currently a starter for the Colts. In fact, third-round pick Hugh Thornton is the only member of that draft class still with the Colts. He was placed on injured reserve before the start of the season.
The issues in Indy are by now well known. And while Luck hasn’t necessarily played up to his talent level, there’s a lot more to look at here outside of simple quarterback play.
It’s in this that the second-best receiver in Colts history definitely has a point.