Need to Know: Colts would have drafted RG3

Here is what you need to know on this Saturday, March 2, 10 days before the start of the new league year and free agency.

Irsay would have drafted RG3

On the last Sunday of the 2011 season, the Jaguars held off the Colts to drop Indianapolis to 2-14. That gave Indy the first pick in the draft and left the Rams, who would have had the top pick if Indy had won, with the second pick.

We are all familiar with what happened from there. The Colts drafted Andrew Luck and St. Louis got a king’s ransom of draft picks from the Redskins for the second pick, who turned out to be Robert Griffin III.

But what if things had been different? Suppose the Colts had won that final game? They were going to take a quarterback to replace Peyton Manning. If Luck had gone first overall to the Rams or the Redskins or whoever else might have traded into that top spot, would the Colts have taken RG3?

During an interesting interview with Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star, owner Jim Irsay addresses that “what if” and he takes something of a shot at the Redskins in the process.

A quick aside on a question that’s been posed and heretofore unanswered: If the Colts had beaten the Jaguars that day and ended up with the second pick in the draft, would they have drafted Robert Griffin III and let Manning go?

Irsay said yes.

He would have drafted RGIII, but put him in a less run-happy offense. “I wouldn’t have exposed him to injury in the same way they have in Washington,” Irsay said. “My philosophy on quarterbacks is, first and foremost, you’ve got to keep them healthy and on the field.”

Apparently Irsay would have kept Griffin in the pocket to absorb the punishment of the 41 sacks and 63 hits that Luck absorbed in 2012 (compared to 20 sacks and 28 hits for RG3).

Of course, we don’t know if Griffin would have ended up being a Colt had the Rams held the top pick. St. Louis was going to stick with Sam Bradford, the top pick in the 2010 draft, as its quarterback regardless. The Redskins, in desperate need of a QB, would have been looking to move up to get the Rams’ pick. If they had done that, would they have taken Luck, who many called the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning? Or would they have gone with the dynamic Heisman winner RG3?

At the end of the day, both teams are happy with the way things turned out. Mike Shanahan got the mobile guy to fit his offensive concepts while Irsay got his pocket passer.

Is Shanahan giving Fletcher a nudge out the door?

I talked about this yesterday here. We don’t know what is going to happen with Fletcher yet but remember that Mike Shanahan rarely says something that is unplanned and not intended to send a specific message. 

In case you missed it

• What happens if Fletcher is gone?
• Is he or isn’t he?
• Point-Counterpoint: Is Fred Davis a luxury?
• Is the cap bombshell a dud or is it still ticking?
• Draft won’t produce immediate starters

Days until: Start of league year 10; OTA’s 74; Training camp 145

Comments

[Tim Sharkey]

“I wouldn’t have exposed him to injury in the same way they have in Washington,” Irsay said. “My philosophy on quarterbacks is, first and foremost, you’ve got to keep them healthy and on the field.”

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Wow, Jim, you're obviously more brilliant than anyone else in the NFL. And, yeah, you would have kept Griffin from running the ball, because no QB ever got hurt standing in the pocket.