It seems like forever since we've seen Andrew Luck on the field. A year ago, there were lots of empty promises and assurances, which in retrospect (and even at the time) seemed like efforts to sell tickets. But so far, everything sounds better this year.
Luck was throwing at minicamp last month, proclaiming his surgically repaired shoulder to be "pain-free." Yesterday GM Chris Ballard said Luck is good to go for training camp. (Wisely, the Colts have Ballard rather than team owner Jim Irsay giving updates on the quarterback, since everyone has learned not to trust anything Irsay says.)
Because Luck missed all of last season and a good chunk of 2015, it's easy to forget just how productive he is when he plays. He runs more than a lot of quarterbacks, and Indianapolis' defense has been the type to encourage shootouts. Plus he's really good. Add all that together, and you've got a quarterback who's 2nd-only to another Colts when it comes to per-game fantasy production over the last five years. (1 point for every 20 passing and 10 rushing yards, 4 point TD passes.)
| QB PER-GAME FANTASY POINTS, 2013-2017 (40-PLUS STARTS) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | PYd | RYd | TD | Pts |
| Peyton Manning | 41 | 303.7 | -1.5 | 2.5 | 25.3 |
| Andrew Luck | 54 | 272.3 | 22.0 | 2.2 | 25.1 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 64 | 263.1 | 19.2 | 2.3 | 24.8 |
| Drew Brees | 79 | 310.5 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 24.7 |
| Cam Newton | 77 | 222.8 | 37.3 | 1.9 | 23.6 |
| Russell Wilson | 80 | 238.2 | 34.8 | 1.9 | 23.2 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 72 | 289.5 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 22.9 |
| Tom Brady | 76 | 281.0 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 22.8 |
| Kirk Cousins | 56 | 274.7 | 6.4 | 1.9 | 22.5 |
| Philip Rivers | 80 | 280.7 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 22.0 |
| Matthew Stafford | 80 | 274.3 | 7.8 | 1.8 | 22.0 |
| Matt Ryan | 80 | 285.5 | 6.5 | 1.7 | 21.7 |
| Jameis Winston | 45 | 258.6 | 11.3 | 1.7 | 21.5 |
| Carson Palmer | 60 | 279.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 21.3 |
| Blake Bortles | 61 | 241.1 | 22.6 | 1.6 | 21.1 |
| Marcus Mariota | 42 | 225.6 | 21.7 | 1.6 | 20.6 |
| Josh McCown | 40 | 242.7 | 10.0 | 1.7 | 20.5 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 61 | 248.5 | 14.0 | 1.6 | 20.5 |
| Andy Dalton | 77 | 239.8 | 10.1 | 1.7 | 20.4 |
| Tyrod Taylor | 43 | 202.3 | 35.7 | 1.5 | 20.3 |
| Alex Smith | 76 | 231.7 | 22.0 | 1.5 | 20.0 |
| Colin Kaepernick | 51 | 204.4 | 37.0 | 1.4 | 19.8 |
| Eli Manning | 79 | 255.2 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 19.6 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 51 | 228.2 | 16.2 | 1.5 | 19.5 |
| Derek Carr | 62 | 236.9 | 5.9 | 1.7 | 19.3 |
| Jay Cutler | 60 | 230.3 | 9.4 | 1.6 | 19.1 |
| Joe Flacco | 74 | 245.2 | 4.5 | 1.4 | 19.0 |
Those burned by Luck last season understandably would like to see him on the field before selecting him. But so far, so good.
--Andy Richardson