Carolina Panthers: What to expect from Will Grier
By Luke Tucker
On Sunday, rookie quarterback Will Grier will make his first career start when the Carolina Panthers take on the Indianapolis Colts.
After losing six-straight, the Carolina Panthers will give rookie quarterback Will Grier his first NFL start when they travel to Indianapolis this weekend. The move became official on Thursday, and comes on the heels of Kyle Allen’s seventh multi-turnover game in 12 starts. The Panthers selected Grier with the 100th-overall pick in the 2019 draft, and has spent the last 12 games as Carolina’s backup quarterback. Not only will he be making his first NFL start on Sunday, but the Charlotte native will get his first live reps in a regular-season contest. With that being said, here’s what you can expect from the Panthers’ third-round pick.
Based on his collegiate performance, he has plenty of upside.
Despite an up-and-down preseason, the Panthers shouldn’t have lost hope in Grier, and if the past is any indication it would be unwise to do so. Written off by Jim McElwain at Florida, Grier transferred to West Virginia in 2016 and developed into one of the best passers in college football. In 22 games with the Mountaineers, Grier completed 66% of his passes for over 7,300 yards and 71 touchdowns. As far as interceptions go, he was picked off on just 2% of his passes in college. He isn’t much of a rushing threat, but he did do a good job of using his legs to extend plays and escape pressure in college.
Statistics aside, Grier was clearly a highly successful player at the collegiate level, as evidenced by his fourth-place finish in 2018 Heisman voting, as well as his All-Big 12 selection. Before college, he played at nearby Davidson Day School–located just 30 minutes north of Bank of America Stadium–where he was named the National Player of the Year as well as Mr. Football USA in 2013. At Davidson Day, he once threw for a national record 837 yards and 10 touchdowns in a single game.
On a different note, one of Grier’s biggest strengths in college was his ability to read opposing defenses. Now, reading an NFL defense is obviously much tougher, however, it’s something Allen has often done a horrible job of in 2019. If Grier can “simply” go through his progressions and make good decisions on Sunday, then there’s an extremely good chance his debut will be labeled a success. Other strengths for the rookie signal-caller include his ability to manage the pocket, as well as an accurate arm.
He will have growing pains
As with any rookie quarterback in the NFL, Grier will have his share of growing pains over these final two games in 2019. Those growing pains began in the preseason, however, as it wore on, he played better. In Carolina’s final preseason game, Grier had what was easily his best game, completing 11 of 18 passes for 189 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Not great, but not awful, and certainly evidence of growth.
Perhaps the biggest concern for Grier heading into Sunday’s game against the Colts is turnovers. He committed four turnovers in the preseason, with one of those being a fumble on a strip sack. According to NFL.com’s pre-draft scouting report, one of Grier’s weaknesses is being loose with the football when trying to avoid pressure–something Panthers fans have become all too accustomed to with Allen at quarterback. Another weakness mentioned on the scouting report is that he takes too many sacks. He struggled with that during the preseason also, taking seven sacks for 53 yards in four partial games of play. If Grier has learned anything from watching Allen’s self-destruction, it had better be to get rid of the ball–especially with the offensive line that will be in front of him.
Ultimately, the Panthers’ coaching staff will determine how Grier’s first start will go
As fans and writers, we can discuss all we want about expectations for Grier’s first start, however, it’s the Panthers’ offensive gameplan that will ultimately dictate those expectations. Because of that, stating numerical “goals” for Grier seems unfair. Rather than to judge his performance based on stats, he should be judged on his tape. Carolina’s top priority for the rookie should be his decision-making, followed by his awareness in the pocket. He obviously has a good enough arm to be a NFL quarterback, so if he can avoid the “big mistake” that has plagued the Panthers all year, then Sunday’s game should be considered a success–regardless of the final score.