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It never gets old talking about how good Andrew Luck is, right?
The offseason is filled with various rankings and discussions, often about the quarterback position, and recently Pro Football Focus joined in.
PFF is currently counting down their list of the top 50 players in the NFL, and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck made the list at number 25:
This past season was the best year of Luck’s career, and the first time we really saw him consistently play up to his sky-high potential. Luck was particularly impressive on the deep ball, completing 39 passes of 20-plus air yards (tied for the most in the league) and throwing 11 touchdowns to just four picks on those shots. His adjusted completion percentage on those deep shots was 54.1 percent, the fourth best mark in the league, and his PFF grade of 92.4 was one of just four grades over 90 among the quarterback crop.
In 2016, Luck completed 346 of 545 passes (63.5%) for 4,240 yards (7.78 yards per attempt), 31 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions for a passer rating of 96.4, also adding 341 yards and two scores rushing while averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He set new career highs in completion percentage and yards per attempt, while he was just 0.1 points away from tying his career high in passer rating. He put up his third 4,000 yard season and his second 30 touchdown season.
PFF notes that Luck was one of just four quarterbacks to receive a grade of 90 or higher last year, so it should be assumed that Luck is the fourth-highest quarterback on this list (he’s just ahead of Russell Wilson, who is 26th), though it should be noted that this list isn’t solely based on 2016 but rather is ranking the best players in the NFL period.
Luck was very, very good last year, but Colts fans don’t need to be reminded of that. It’s always encouraging, however, to take a look at just how good he was to provide reason for hope and optimism (whenever he does return from injury). The Colts are very much in rebuilding mode, but with Luck under center they will have a fighting chance in almost every game they play and will continually compete for playoff spots. That makes Chris Ballard’s job a bit easier, as he doesn’t have to worry about the quarterback position. Luck bounced back as good as ever last year, and now the Colts just need to give him some more help.