Andrew Luck Sticks With Stanford

Today the expected first overall pick of the NFL Draft declared that he would stay with his college team for another year. Andrew Luck was the clear front-runner in the race to be No. 1 overall this April, and the Panthers had been ready to take him and allow him to (hopefully) turn the team around, much like 2010's first overall, Sam Bradford, did in St. Louis.

Perhaps Luck decided he did not wish to play for the Carolina Panthers. I don't blame him, considering the sorry state of the team and the extremely low level of talent at virtually every position. I think that this is possibly the only conclusion to why he would forgo his entrance to the league and thereby his entrance to the world of the rich. It would make more sense for him to announce this with his college coach, Jim Harbaugh, signed and ready to go for another year. But with Harbaugh looking likely to be anywhere but Stanford next season, Luck probably just announced this to avoid becoming a Panther.

At least, that is my take. The question is, who do the Panthers go with now? Although the draft will be deep with talent at the QB position, the quarterback other than Luck with the potential to go No. 1 overall is Missouri's Blaine Gabbert. He may be a little rougher around the edges than Luck would have been, but he still has the potential to become a great QB in the NFL. But with the Panthers using a second-round pick on Jimmy Clausen last year, it's somewhat unlikely that they will take Gabbert, as he isn't as clear of a first overall pick than Luck. Especially considering the Panthers don't have a second rounder this year. So they had better choose wisely.

My thought is that perhaps they could trade the first pick and end up with a nice first rounder and a second rounder. That would help improve the team more than one player will.

A lot of people figure that they will take Georgia WR A.J. Green. Green is one of the most talented WRs to play the game at the college level in a while. Jimmy Clausen would sure look a lot better throwing to Steve Smith and A.J. Green.