The most intriguing Round of 16 matchup in our 'Be The GM' series is undoubtedly between Andrew Luck and J.J. Watt.

No quarterback has come into the NFL in which there was as much certainty that he would become elite as Luck since Peyton Manning in 1998, while Watt has become a transcendent talent as a 3-4 defensive end at the age of 24 after just two seasons.

Luck’s individual statistics were fairly pedestrian in 2012, but he helped take a flawed Indianapolis Colts' team back to the playoffs with an 11-5 record.

Luck had a passer rating of jut 76.5 while completing 339 of his 627 attempts with 23 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. The Colts’ offensive line was a big liability for Luck and they allowed him to be hit more than any other quarterback in the NFL. The Colts improved their offensive line in the offseason and it is conceivable that Luck’s passer rating jumps nearly 20 points in his second season as Manning’s did in 1999 (71.2 to 90.7). 

Bruce Arians had a huge impact in Luck’s rookie season and with his departure to become head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, the Colts hired Pep Hamilton of Stanford. Luck expects the Colts’ offense to be a hybrid of Arians’ offense and the West Coast that Hamilton ran at Stanford. Luck’s low completion percentage will almost certainly improve moving away from Arians’ system.

Another issue for Luck in his rookie season was the absence of an effective running game. With the threat of the run established, Luck will see defenses not able to cheat as often as they were in 2012.

Luck, similar to Aaron Rodgers, is effective as a runner on occasion. Luck finished his rookie season with 255 yards and five touchdowns on 62 attempts.

The team success came sooner than expected for Luck and the statistics will almost certainly catch up with his physical and mental profile. 

Watt had a promising rookie season with 5.5 sacks and 58 tackles, along with a breakout game in the playoffs. But his 20.5 sacks and 16 pass deflections turned Watt into one of the most dominant defensive players in the entire NFL. In 2012, Watt become the first player to ever have more than 100 grading points from Pro Football Focus. Watt had 83 total pressures on 687 pass rushing snaps while also recording 52 of his 55 tackles against the run.

Watt also achieved numbers that he may never match again while playing the entire season with an injured elbow.

Watt’s pass rushing ability makes life extremely difficult for opposing offenses and the Texans ranked 10th in passer rating against at 80.0.

CLICK HERE to vote for Andrew Luck or J.J. Watt.

Be The GM (Round of 16) matchups.

Similar to the Aaron Rodgers/Brandon Marshall matchup and Robert Griffin III/Dez Bryant, it is hard to conceive of a situation in which Paul Poslusny secures even double-digit percentage points against Andrew Luck in this “Be The GM” edition.

No quarterback has come into the NFL in which there was as much certainty that he would become elite as Luck since Peyton Manning in 1998. Luck’s individual statistics were fairly pedestrian in 2012, but he helped take a flawed Indianapolis Colts team back to the playoffs with an 11-5 record.

Luck had a passer rating of jut 76.5 while completing 339 of his 627 attempts with 23 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. The Colts’ offensive line was a big liability for Luck and they allowed him to be hit more than any other quarterback in the NFL. The Colts improved their offensive line in the offseason and it is conceivable that Luck’s passer rating jumps nearly 20 points in his second season as Manning’s did in 1999 (71.2 to 90.7). 

Bruce Arians had a huge impact in Luck’s rookie season and with his departure to become head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, the Colts hired Pep Hamilton of Stanford. Luck expects the Colts’ offense to be a hybrid of Arians’ offense and the West Coast that Hamilton ran at Stanford. Luck’s low completion percentage will almost certainly improve moving away from Arians’ system.

Another issue for Luck in his rookie season was the absence of an effective running game. With the threat of the run established, Luck will see defenses not able to cheat as often as they were in 2012.

Luck, similar to Aaron Rodgers, is effective as a runner on occasion. Luck finished his rookie season with 255 yards and five touchdowns on 62 attempts.

The team success came sooner than expected for Luck and the statistics will almost certainly catch up with his physical and mental profile. 

Posluszny’s career has been spent on underperforming teams with the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars, but he has been unquestionably productive. Posluszny won’t turn 29 until October, but has become measurably better over the course of his twenties. Posluszny is the kind of high volume tackler you want from a middle linebacker and he is beginning to emphasize the need to make high-impact plays. Last season he had three interceptions, seven passes defensed and two forced fumbles. 

Similar to Luck, Posluszny has high-level intangibles and is the leader of a Jaguars’ defense that figures to improve in 2013.

CLICK HERE to vote for Andrew Luck or Paul Posluszny.

Be The GM Homepage.

The NFL will now allow Robert Mathis to wear a specially designed face mask this season.

League spokesman Brian McCarthy wrote Friday in an email to NFL.com and NFL Network that the face mask Mathis has used throughout training camp "was considered a prohibited non-standard customized face mask."

Mathis' face mask has bars running horizontally and diagonally.

Reggie Wayne spent 11 seasons with Peyton Manning and he sees a lot of similarities in Andrew Luck.

"The way [Luck] approaches practice, I hate to do this, but it's somewhat like a Peyton Manning," Wayne said Tuesday in an interview with NBC Sports Network's "Pro Football Talk." "Even though I hate to compare the two, he takes practice just like it's a game. He knows as well as I do that practice is probably going to be harder than the games because you're going to see it so many different ways. In game time, you may only see it once or twice.

"He gets us in and out of the huddle, he tells us to pick it up, he tells the offensive line, 'Hey, we need to do better here.' He tells the receivers, 'I need you to come out a little higher' or whatever the case may be. So he's on it. Whenever your quarterback is doing that, you know you're in the right direction. So I'm glad to see him doing that."

Even though Luck has similarities to Manning, Wayne believes he needs to just be himself.

"What I would much rather Andrew do is build his own legacy, whatever that is," Wayne said in the interview. "Andrew, he can't be a Peyton Manning. He can't be a Tom Brady. He can't be an Aaron Rodgers. Only thing Andrew can do is be Andrew, so whatever your motto is, that's what you need to work on. ... I like what I see.

"Well, actually, I love what I see in him. He's going to be very good. He really is, and as long as we can keep him clean up front and the skill guys continue to make plays for him, he is going to be the face of the NFL soon."