5 reasons why Andrew Luck deserves to be in the Hall of Fame

Andrew Luck is one of the most intriguing and tragic stories of a quarterback's career that we have really ever seen. After one of the worst seasons in the history of the franchise, the Indianapolis Colts took Luck with the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. This came after the era of the great Peyton Manning, and from the jump, the expectations were that he would fill the shoes of one of the greatest quarterbacks in history, and the man who brought the Colts to two Super Bowls, winning one

Luck did not back down from that challenge, though, and despite playing with a team that had won just two games the year before, he would go on to lead the Colts to 11 wins, and break the single-season record for passing yards by a rookie.

He went on to be a phenomenal quarterback for the franchise, leading the Colts to multiple playoff appearances, including an iconic 31-10 comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. Luck brought the Colts out of the darkness of the bottom of the league, and made them a team that felt bound for a championship.

And then, injuries plagued Luck, in 2015, Luck suffered a lacerated kidney and a partially torn abdominal muscle, and missed most of that season. In 2016 he only misssed one game, but followed that season up by getting shoulder surgery on an issue that was bothering him for a while.

He would go on to miss the entire 2017 season with that surgery, but would return in 2018 to win Comeback Player of the Year, and lead the Colts to the Divisional Round of the Playoffs. But that would be his final game, Luck retired two weeks before the 2019 season began, sending the league into a frenzy, saying he lost his joy for the game and was tired of the constant struggle with rehab and getting back.

Luck called it quits, and understandably so, but now that his legacy is all but set in stone, how should we look back on his career? And does he deserve to have his name and legacy enshrined in Canton Ohio? For me, absolutely a resounding yes. Here’s why.

5. Andrew Luck made the most of what he had

Inheritiing a two-win team that was not at all a quarterback away and leading them straight to the postseason is quite impressive, and something that adds to Luck's legacy. However, he carried the team pretty often. To be frank, the Colts have to take a bit of the blame for what happened to Luck, he was one of the most sacked quarterbacks throughout the span of his career, and offensive line was not a huge focus until the very end.

This was also a rough drafting era for Indianapolis, with first-round misses like Bjorn Werner, Phillip Dorsett, and Malik Hooker. Luck did not get Quenton Nelson until his final season when the Colts had a solid offensive line that ironically seemed to get better after he retired.

While winning a championship would have been great for Luck's legacy, it just was not in the cards for the Colts during the time he spent in the NFL, their window would have truly opened up if he was able to play past the 2018 season, but that unfortunately did not happen for this franchise.

When it comes to the Hall of Fame, many of those guys are known for their ability to win, and most of them either have a Super Bowl, or have had very long NFL careers, Luck has neither.

However, he was able to lift a franchise out of one of the worst eras in franchise history in just one season and was one of the best quarterbacks in the league year in and year out. Having hardware as Comeback Player of the Year and four Pro Bowls should also help him out.

4. Clutch factor and Playoff performance

Winning at the end of the day is what matters in the NFL, and while the greatest prize was not obtained by Luck, he was still a very successful Playoff quarterback and performer. He took this team to two Divisional Rounds, an AFC Championship, and one WIld-Card loss back in his rookie season. Having iconic performances also helps out one's case in getting to Canton, which Luck has.

That aforementioned comeback against the Chiefs is one for the ages, and it is one that still gets talked about almost a decade later. Luck was known as one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the league with 21 fourth-quarter game-winning drives, 17 of those being fourth-quarter comebacks.

Being a quarterback that you know teams would pick if they needed someone to make a drive with the game on the line really helps out your legacy and how you are talked about, and for the Hall of Fame committee, this has to be part of the discussion.

If Luck's career continued, he would have had many more of these comebacks and drives, and yes, all we have to work with is what he did when he was on the field, but it is tough not to think about even if you are selecting who should be enshrined.

3. Andrew Luck’s ability on the field was special

There is one thing that nobody can deny: Luck is one of the best quarterbacks that we saw come up during the 2010s.

The young gun from Stanford had the toughness, as well as phenomenal football IQ with great leadership, but also one of the best natural abilities of any guy in the league. While Luck did not have the mobility of some guys that are coming out now, he was a decent runner when needed, and could fit the ball in just about any spot.

For other positions, selection based on how impressive you were on the field is sometimes enough to get it done, but for quarterbacks it can be tough to get in on that merit. However, Luck had enough ability to outshine a majority of his peers, including a year in which he led the league in passing touchdowns back in 2014.

If you throw all the numbers away and just rank quarterbacks all time based on how good they were at the position, that is where you can really figure out if a guy deserves to get in or not. And for most, it is undeniable that Luck would rank pretty high on that list.

He maybe would not rank up there with some of the greatest to ever do it, but there would be a conversation between some of the guys that are already in that Hall of Fame, even not including the quarterbacks from before the more modern side of the league's history.

2. Andrew Luck’s numbers

Numbers? Andrew Luck only played six seasons in the NFL how could that possibly be a factor in his selection? Well, despite his time in the NFL's brevity, those numbers are still pretty solid all things considered. Luck finished his career with 171 passing touchdowns to just 83 interceptions, 23,671 yards, and a career passer rating of 89.5.

For how short his career was, he made the absolute most of it and put up some impressive numbers with the limited time he had. Luck averaged 275.2 yards per game in his 86-game career, and he is also good for just around two touchdowns per game.

We could do the math on what his career numbers may look like had he played the same amount of games as other guys in the league, but the numbers he had already put up speak for themselves alone. They also led to four Pro Bowl selections in just six seasons meanwhile it takes some guys whole careers to reach that many.

Not to give Kurt Warner a stray, he absolutely deserves to be in with his championships, but to use him as an example he made the same amount of Pro Bowls in 12 seasons in the NFL, so that amount of selections can get you into Canton.

1. The what-if factor

Again, the Hall of Fame is selected based on what guys did on the field rather than what could have or should have would have happened, but we have seen this story before pretty recently.

It is interesting to compare a receiver to a quarterback, but Calvin Johnson is a guy that played nine seasons in the NFL, and was a Hall of Famer with no doubt about it whatsoever, deservingly so. But the main factor was his natural ability, and the career of a receiver is very different in terms of judging them.

But the point is that players with short careers have gotten in before not based upon their numbers, but what they did even in a brief career. But for Luck, what may get him in is also the consideration of what if he had such a long career like a Tom Brady or his predecessor Peyton Manning.

One would have to imagine the Colts would have had some amazing years with a team that had a stretch in which they had the best offensive line in football for a few years. Imagine that squad with Jonathan Taylor running behind the best unit in the league, meanwhile you have Luck running his play action to a still solid T.Y. Hilton.

You have to think they would have one Super Bowl, or would have gotten close in the past few years, and while they would not admit it, this may factor in to the committee's decision. While he may not be first-ballot, you give this enough years to brew in people's minds and he may find his way into the Hall one day, and he should within the next five to 10 years at the most.

The question that they ask when you vote for the Hall of Fame is "Can you write the history of the NFL without this player?" And the fact that we all still talk about Luck's greatness, still imagine the what ifs, and still celebrate his performance during his time means that no, the history of this league cannot be written without number 12 for the Indianapolis Colts.

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