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With Ryan Fitzpatrick acting as the team’s stopgap option at quarterback, the Dolphins may look to the draft to further address the quarterback position when the 2019 draft starts tomorrow. One of the options available is West Virginia’s Will Grier. Grier, 24, completed 67% of his passes in his final season in college for 3,864 yards, 37 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Grier has typically ranked as one of the lower tier quarterbacks in this draft class, and his age might scare some teams away. But I think with Miami in need of a long term franchise quarterback, Grier might offer an answer there.
I wasn’t expecting much going into his tape, so I wasn’t expected Grier’s accuracy to be good. Like, it’s surprisingly good. For more on that let’s take a look at some clips.
One of the things I care about when evaluating the quarterback position is making accurate throws into tight windows. It’s especially impressive doing so under duress, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to throw from a clean pocket either.
Grier’s accuracy can be astounding. He’s an aggressive minded passer that enjoys taking shots into small windows and offers consistent success throwing there. The left side of this play features the trips formation, as three receivers are lined up on that side of the ball. As the route lanes clear out Grier recognizes one of the receivers running towards the corner of the end zone.
Grier is confident here that he can throw his receiver open, and he trusts that the receiver can use his speed to catch up to the ball and beat out the corner on the play. All of this happens, and it results in a beautifully placed touchdown pass from Grier.
Grier’s play under pressure doesn’t seem to take a serious hit either, as shown by this play. The interior pass rusher has a free hole as he bursts through the A-gap undetected. This gives the quarterback not even a split second to react and attempt to make something happen. He doesn’t flinch and fires a pass that has absolutely zero margin for error.
And much like the first throw, it’s spectacular.
The receiver can’t get one foot in bounds so this doesn’t count, but the accuracy from Grier here is outrageous. It’s incredible coverage from the Baylor defense, but Grier’s great reaction to interior pressure and ball placement almost make this work. But it gives a taste of what he can do when he’s forced to rush the play.
Grier’s arm strength has taken plenty of criticism, but truth be told I don’t think it’s all that bad. Okay, perhaps it’s not at the level of a guy like Kyler Murray, but really I don’t think it should be below average in the NFL.
The zip from Grier on this third and five throw is nice, and he displays clean footwork as he lets this one rip. What also stands out about this play is how quick Grier’s throwing motion is. For all the slander his arm gets, I think the quicker release he presents gives more margin for error on his throws and gets to his receivers just a hair before the defender can attempt to disrupt the pass.
Grier is also more than capable of creating plays outside the pocket, and if Miami drafts him he’s going to need to do that considering the offensive line is a work in progress. He’s probably the second most mobile of the quarterbacks I’ve watched from this class (Murray is first, of course).
The arm strength and accuracy on the run here are both pinpoint. The pass is ultimately disrupted, but this is an accurate throw on the quarterback’s part.
Now, if there’s one area where Grier needs work, it’s in his decision making consistency.
Grier’s decision making is generally fine, though there are times where he can stare down receivers for too long or misread coverages. He stares down the curl route for too long on this play, pump faking before firing in that direction. That delay in his release ultimately cost him, as this pass was picked off by the Kansas State defensive back.
So this is an area where Grier could use work, but as a quarterback prospect I think he’s very underrated. He reminds me of a more mobile Carson Palmer, a quarterback that excelled at dropping back and making aggressive tight window throws down the field. That’s incredibly important consider Miami has one of the worst offensive lines in the league, so getting a quarterback like Grier that can make tight window throws and play under pressure is big.
The only other concern I have for Grier is at the age of 24, how much more can he develop? A guy like Sam Darnold is extremely raw but full of potential since he’s 21, so who knows if Grier can progress further. But I think for the skill set he offers, I really like Grier as a prospect.
I don’t think he’s as good as Kyler Murray or Dwayne Haskins, but I personally think Will Grier is closer to Haskins than people think, and I like him more than Drew Lock. With sensational accuracy, impressive mobility, better than perceived arm strength, clean mechanics and a quick release, the idea of Grier to Miami should appeal to the Dolphins front office and coaching staff.