2019 NFL Draft: Will Grier brings gunslinger mentality to next level

West Virginia football’s Will Grier is the definition of a gunslinger. The former Florida Gator will now take his chances at the NFL Draft.

The son of a coach and quarterback guru, Grier shined over the past two seasons in Morgantown after transferring from Gainesville. He hit high-water marks this past year in passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage and yards per attempt.

Grier hit on 266 of 397 passes, good for a 66-percent clip, for 3,864 yards, 37 touchdowns and 9.7 yards per attempt. His quarterback rating reached 175.5 this year, leaving him with a career QBR of 165.2.

Over his career at West Virginia and Florida, Grier completed 66 percent of his throws for 8,556 yards with 81 touchdowns and just 23 interceptions. The bulk of that was accomplished after leaving the Gators, where he played in six games with 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Strength

Grier has that NFL-ready arm that gets scouts and coaches drooling. He can make all the throws deep, as evident by his 10 yards per attempt this past year. And he has a knack for finding the end zone after throwing for 71 touchdowns in the past two seasons.

Back in his prep days, Grier flashed his potential, racking up yards both in the air and on the ground. He finished his high school career with 14,565 yards passing, 2,955 yards rushing, 195 passing touchdowns and 31 more rushing scores. That included a national-record 837-yard game his junior year.

Grier was regarded as an elite quarterback at an early age, receiving offers from many of the top schools in the South. He opted for Florida, battling with Treon Harris and Jeff Driskel for snaps before departing for West Virginia following a suspension.

Weakness

Which leads us to the weakness for Grier: that suspension for taking a performance-enhancing drug. Grier admitted what happened, citing his decision to take an over-the-counter supplement that had a banned substance in it.

Still, you can bet Grier was grilled during interviews by potential NFL teams in regards to the matter. Nobody wants to have to worry about drafting a quarterback with a cloudy past, but Grier should have been able to come clean on the matter and resolve anything before it got out of hand.

Draft expectations

Grier’s big arm is a great tool, but there are plenty of questions around his abilities. He has good, not great, size at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, and showed an ability to make plays with his legs.

Grier, though, is definitely in that second-tier, if not third-tier, of draft-eligible quarterbacks behind the likes of Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and Duke’s Daniel Jones.

Projection: Second round pick