With draft day rapidly approaching, certain names in the College Football Realm begin to get bigger and bigger. Kyler Murray, listed at a stout 5’10” and a whopping 205 pounds, seems to cast a significant shadow over the other QBs in this draft class. Except for Dwayne Haskins who is 6’5″, which is too big to be covered up by a guy like Murray. Short jokes aside, both QBs are tremendous talents and look to do well in the NFL, but what about the other QBs in this class? While there are definitely a few names who have great talent but just haven’t shown it (Drew Lock), their is one name that has been tested on some of the biggest stages and really shined. If you haven’t figured it out, that person is Will Grier.
The Numbers
Over the 2018 season Will Grier posted some astounding numbers. He had a QBR of 175.5 while his career QBR is just a little bit below at 165.2. We’ll save calculating college QB ratings for another day, but Grier put up 37 TDs and eight interceptions as well. While those aren’t Kyler Murray numbers, they are still impressive enough to put Grier as a first round pick. Grier’s numbers dominated the college game, but an asterisk that says *against Big XII defenses looms large. Over the course of last season I actually felt that it might be a better strategy to just remove the defense from the field so the offense could constantly have the ball (Pending a response from Lincoln Riley).
While the defensive play was not top tier, the stages that Grier stepped onto and delivered jaw dropping performances was elite. Games against Texas and Oklahoma allowed Grier to show intangibles that you do not see in a QBR. The guy is a winner and competes until the last second. Grier shares a few college mistakes, mostly errant throws and poor field vision, but that’s baggage every QB in the Draft carries. Grier possesses the physical and mental ability having played not only in big games against playoff contenders, but also in the SEC which everyone highly regards because Alabama exists in the conference.
Where Does Grier Fit?
Anywhere to be honest. Grier could go to the Cardinals and he would ball out. It wouldn’t be a shock to seem him end up some where like Tampa Bay, though, where the QB play is about equal with the AAF, And if you haven’t seen how bad that is, then I’ll sum it up really fast for you: Christian Hackenberg was a starting Quarterback.
Tampa is in desperate need of a QB change unless they got CTE themselves and forgot how awful Jameis is. I can already see this relationship forming. On a side note, Grier’s wife is a cheerleader for the Buccaneers and if seeing your wife dance on the sideline while you sling a TD to Mike Evans isn’t the cutest thing ever, than I don’t know what is. Another very realistic destination for Grier could be the Patriots. While this seems more unlikely since Belichick absolutely loves pulling the diamond in the rough somewhere between the 3rd and 5th round, it is still a very real possibility.
All in all, Will Grier is a baller. Expect him to go somewhere in the first and light up the NFL in a somewhat Baker Mayfield type style. The guy is here to stay, no doubt. After just having his first child, he is more than likely hungry for that first game check. Good luck Mr. Grier and keep up the beard.