NFL Rumors: Indianapolis Colts Drafted New Offensive Line To Entice Andrew Luck To Stay

NFL rumors are swirling around Andrew Luck. He’s in the midst of a negotiation with the Indianapolis Colts on a huge contract extension. While Luck certainly wants to stay with the team that discarded Peyton Manning and brought him into the National Football League, it doesn’t hurt the Colts’ chance to make the team as appealing as possible to their franchise quarterback. According to Fox Sports, Indianapolis decided to do a major upgrade on their offensive line through the draft so that their quarterback will be pleased.

Negotiations between Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts are said to be going quite well. Team owner Jim Irsay has told the media that himself. The Colts feel very confident that they’re going to be able to get Luck to sign his second contract in the NFL. As one of the best quarterbacks in the league, he’s of extremely high value to Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Colts had eight selections in the NFL Draft. They decided to use half of those on offensive linemen. That says a lot because general managers usually like to spread out the selections because they want to build depth. Ryan Grigson obviously made it a priority to bring as many blockers to the Colts as he possibly could. In a way, he’s trying to let Andrew Luck know that protecting him is the biggest priority for the franchise.

With their first pick in the NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts selected Ryan Kelly, which is a clear sign that they want to make Andrew Luck as comfortable as possible on offense. Khaled Holmes played center for the Colts last year. He’s gone now. Kelly is viewed by many as a major upgrade over Holmes. He’s going to play a key part in Luck being able to play more than seven games this upcoming season.

Ryan Kelly should be a tremendous boost for the Indianapolis Colts running game. The former Alabama Crimson Tide star paved the way for Derrick Henry, who put up enough yards to win the Heisman Trophy. Henry is now with the Tennessee Titans, and Kelly played a big part in making that happen. He should be able to help Frank Gore become a dominant rusher in the NFL again. The former San Francisco 49ers running back was forced to go up against eight men in the box last season, but that should not be an issue with Kelly around.

Adding a center can make a world of a difference for an offensive line in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys took a risk by drafting Travis Frederick in the first round in 2013. They now have arguably the best offensive line in the National Football League now, and Frederick is a big part of that.

In addition to Ryan Kelly, the Indianapolis Colts also added three other beefy players who can protect Andrew Luck. Le’Raven Clark is 6’5?, 315 pounds. Joe Haeg is a 293-pound guard that won five straight FCS championship with North Dakota State. Austin Blythe is a 290-pound behemoth who is versatile enough to play both center and guard. New Colts offensive line coach Joe Philbin should be able to make use of all his new toys.

Andrew Luck wants to stay with the Indianapolis Colts. He would have figured out a way to win games with a bad offensive line. Ryan Grigson didn’t want him to be stuck in that position. Grigson is hoping that he did enough in the NFL Draft to make sure that Luck is going to have protection. That goes a long way in making a franchise quarterback happy.

[Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images]