CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It’s time to face the facts: Will Grier simply is not ready to lead an NFL team.
And before you grab your pen or laptop and write me a nasty letter, hear me out. Then, if you disagree with me, by all means my social media direct messages, email and office mailbox are open for your comments.
First off, let me say that Grier is a phenomenal quarterback and — I believe — should have been drafted higher. I think Charlotte is a great place for him, but I had other ball clubs in mind that would have utilized him better. But nonetheless drafted in the third round, it was clear Ron Rivera wanted extra insurance with Grier.
A lot of folks in the Panthers’ camp think he is a wasted pick, but that’s just not accurate. It couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is, Grier is a solid draft for the Panthers. They needed that insurance in the case the quarterback depth bottomed out with injuries, but even with Grier’s pickup Rivera knew long ago that Kyle Allen was going to get the starting job.
Let’s be honest, Allen is just as good a quarterback than Grier if not better. He’s had one more year in the league than him, too, and after Sunday’s game against Houston is 3-0 in contests he’s started. You also have to take into account that he caught a tough break in 2017 when he transferred from Texas A&M to Houston. So, naturally, it’s not surprising he would go undrafted in 2018.
The top-high school prospect was known for his strong arm, and after throwing for more than 8,000 yards at Desert Mountain High in Scottsdale, Ariz., Allen took his talent to the Aggies’ roster. He beat out Kenny Hill — who later transferred to TCU — and proceeded to throw for 1,322 yards and 16 touchdowns his freshman year. In his sophomore season, he competed with future Heisman winner at Oklahoma Kyler Murray, completing 160-of-283 passes for 2,210 yards and 17 touchdowns. He had to sit in 2016 after his transfer to Houston, and only played in four games in 2017, going 80-for-105 in the air for a career-low 751 yards and four touchdowns.
So, again, to go undrafted would make sense, but Rivera saw something in Allen that pervaded the norm. He knew he still had something in him. And after Newton’s shoulder injury in 2018, Rivera got his first taste of Allen in Week 17 who finished 16-of-27 for 228 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for one touchdown and throwing two interceptions.
Now let’s move to Grier, keeping in mind that his path through college was much more stable than Allen’s even with the PED mixup. In his freshman year at Florida, he went 105-of-160 for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns. After sitting in 2016 amid his transfer to WVU, he ended his two years in Morgantown with 7,354 yards, 71 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Those high yards came from 516 completions out of 785 attempts, leaving him with a 65.7 completion percentage and 169.2 quarterback rating. Grier’s weapons were paramount to his success that put him atop the Mountaineers record book, and David Sills V and Gary Jennings alone were better than half of what Allen had at his disposal at Houston.
That certainly helped Grier’s draft stock, and could have potentially led to consideration of using an air raid quarterback with receivers like DJ Moore, Jarius Wright and on occasion Chris Hogan. But, when you enter a new field, you have to compete. Even though Grier out threw Allen in the preseason — going 34-for-61 for 385 yards, two scores and three interceptions — he was also loose behind the line getting sacked seven times for a loss of 53 yards, including a lost fumble. There’s also the fact that Grier played more minutes than Allen, and was still rated lower than the sophomore.
There’s another factor: Most of us don’t see what’s going on during practice. Grier simply may just not groove well with the receivers yet. Stats will tell you one thing, and even though Grier saw more time in the preseason than Allen, by no means does that mean he’s higher in the depth chart — typically, it’s the opposite.
So, with Allen getting the spotlight over third-string rookie Grier, WVU fans should quit complaining. Grier made it to the big leagues — on his hometown team, nonetheless — and is going to have a fantastic pro career should he stay healthy and on the right path. His time will come, whether on Carolina’s roster or not. He’s not Marc Bulger or Geno Smith, but he’ll come into his own.
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