MORGANTOWN — As NFL draft projections spotlight the Big Four quarterbacks — Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock and Daniel Jones — West Virginia’s Will Grier may be slotted as the next-best available.
Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com foresees a path for Grier hearing his name called late in Thursday’s first round.
“The quarterback class, I think, is going to get over-drafted,” Florio said during an appearance on MetroNews Statewide “Sportsline.”
He expects the top four quarterbacks being drafted within the first 17 to 20 picks, and then wonders if another team swoops in to pick a quarterback late in the first round.
“Between [picks] 20 and 32 is going to be the hot zone for whoever the next guy is, and there’s no consensus on who that next guy is,” Florio said. “There’s a chance that Will Grier ends up being that guy that sneaks in at the bottom of Round 1.”
First-round rookies have been steady enough the past two seasons that Florio anticipates NFL personnel directors continuing to ride the trend.
Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen all made double-digit starts as 2018 rookies, and the final pick of the first round, Lamar Jackson, started seven games while helping Baltimore reach the playoffs.
“They all passed the eyeball test for their rookie seasons,” said Florio, emphasizing how those players built upon the success of 2017 first-rounders Mitchell Trubiski, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.
“It doesn’t mean they’re all going to be great quarterbacks. It doesn’t mean they’re all going to win Super Bowls. It doesn’t mean more than one of them even has a reasonable chance at Canton,” Florio said. “But I think teams are going to be inclined to roll the dice on these guys.”
