2015 NFL Draft: A Scouts Eye View: Garrett Grayson QB Colorado St

Garrett Grayson QB Colorado State

Measurables: 6'2 215 10" hands

Size/Build/Pocket Presence: Adequate size and build but a bit on the smallish side for a prototypical NFL QB, plays bigger than he measures by standing tall in the pocket...Excellent pocket presence, feels the pass rush while keeping his eyes down the field...Manuevers well within the pocket, has an innate feel for finding the soft spots within it and will stand in the pocket fearlessly, stare down the barrell and take the shot to deliver the football.
 Grade B

Arm Strength: Not elite, but good enough to make the necessary throws and good enough for his style of play...Doesn't try to throw the ball through his receiver when its unnecessary, throws a nice tight catchable spiral.  Has enough length in his arm to make defense respect the deep ball, on film he made defenses pay when they didn't respect his ability to push the ball vertically...Doesnt push it deep when it's not there, he's a quarterback that takes what the defense gives him and relies more on making smart, accurate throws on time and allowing the receiver to make things happen after the catch.  Grade C+

Accuracy/Timing/Ball Placement/Touch: Throws the football on time and in rhythm, throws an accurate and catchable ball with ideal placement for the receiver to make things happen after the catch...Flashes great touch and accuracy down the field...Does a great job leading his receiver, rarely misses behind his man unless he does so intentionally to throw his receiver open along the sideline or to protect him over the middle...Consistently throws the football where the receiver is going and not where he is...Doesn't lose accuracy the deeper he throws or when he throws on the run, remarkably accurate throwing on the move...Rarely misses high, does a nice job throwinglow over the middle to protect the receiver and put the football where only his man can make the catch...Makes his throws consistently on time, his back foot hits the top of his drop and the ball is out just as the receiver is making his break, orchestrates a timing based passing game with outstanding precision...Trusts his eyes, reads defenses brilliantly and has the ability to manipulate coverage with his eyes and throw receivers open..Completed 64% of 420 passes in 2014, completion percentage improved every season. Grade A

Release/Setup/Footwork/Mechanics:  Area of his game that will require some tweaking and improvements...His release is a bit long, and unorthodox, tends to drop his elbow at times which slows his release, but he does have a quick arm which has allowed him to get away with these issues up to this point...Some quarterbacks have been successful tweaking their release and some haven't, it will be up to the team that drafts him if they want to toy with a quarterbacks throwing motion this late in their career or if they will not fix what isn't really broken.  Quarterbacks such as Bernie Kosar and Kerry Collins had abnormal releases as well and had successful NFL careers...His delivery does make him susceptible to having the ball stripped from behind from within the pocket, but his strong pocket presence helps keep this from being a major issue...He'll likely be asked to at least try to tweak and tighten his delivery slightly without a major overhaul, especially since its highly unlikely he'll be asked to take the field as a rookie...Flashes good footwork, but is inconsistent in this area, seems to forget his footwork at times and deliver the ball flat footed even in a clean pocket, a coach that preaches attention to detail can clean up this quirk...Has to do a better and more consistent job of keeping the football up and ready to deliver, he lets the football drop at times which also slows down his delivery fractionally...His mechanics actually seem to be better when he throws on the move, he does a great job of sqauring his shoulders when rolling left and is more consistent keeping the ball up and ready when he's on the move...Has terrific nimble feet within the pocket, knows how to maneuver himself to buy time without leaving the pocket completely, while keeping his eyes constantly down the field...Quick setup and good feet from under center on three, five and seven step drops, plants his back foot and fires, doesn't hold on to the football longer than he has to.  Grade C-

Decision Making/Game Management/Field Vision/Football IQ:  A strength of his game, takes what the defense gives him and rarely forces ill-adviced throws...Has been criticized for being overly conservative but doesn't miss the deep receiver when he's the open man and delivers the deep ball with accuracy, touch and surprising pace...Picks his spots to take chances, takes great care of the football as evidenced by his only seven INT's on 420 throws in 2014...Makes outstanding presnap reads, has a great idea of where to go with the football before the snap but also has the IQ to read the defense and find the open man when the defense does a good job of disguising coverage prior to the snap...Has a great feel for the pass rush without having to look at it...Knows how to get the ball in the hands of his playmakers and let them do their thing, puts the ball in spots where receivers can make plays after the catch...Does a nice job of manipulating the defense with his eyes, looking off the safety and delivering the football the other way...Has great instincts for the position, rarely makes bad decisions...Not afraid to pull it down and run and while he lacks special athletic ability he picks his spots well and has more than enough speed to make the defense pay when they don't account for his ability to run.  Grade A-

Mobility/Athleticism/Scrambling and Improvisational skills:  An underrated aspect of his game, he has more than enough speed and acceleration to make things happen with his legs when all else breaks down...Is better maneuvering and buying time within the pocket than he is scrambling outside it but he does a nice job of staying mechanically sound under pressure and on the move and delivering the football accurately when he's forced to scramble...Underrated escapability and overall athletic ability, flashes impressive acceleration and speed in the open field, surprised many when he ran 40 yard dash in the mid 4.5's at his pro day.  Grade C+

Play Action/Ball Handling: Very strong part of his game, very deceptive and smooth with his play fakes...Has a convincing play action game that consistently freezes linebackers, slowing down the pass rush and opening up passing lanes.  Grade A-

Poise/Leadership/Intangibles: Earned teammates respect by displaying great toughness playing with a painful shoulder injury early in 2014...Plays with great poise from within the pocket, doesn't get rattled by the moving parts around him, stays focused down the field and delivers the football even with pressure bearing down right in his face...He's a cerebral quarterback who leads by example with impressive toughness and strong work ethic...Effectively ran a pro style offense for over two seasons as a starter, he has learned to value possession of the football, isn't afraid to go to his checkdowns, knows how to keep the chains moving...Made huge strides in the mental part of the game every season at Colorado State...An inspirational leader who has the toughness to play hurt and carries a natural charistma....Improved in every aspect of his game on nearly a weekly basis, his best football is still ahead of him.  Grade B

Summary: Those of you looking for that third quarterback in the class of 2015 behind everyones nearly undisputed top two of Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, look no further, Garrett Grayson could very well be it.  He's an underrated athlete with a strong enough arm who makes great decisions with the football, is experienced and was successful in a pro style offense, and knows how to read a defense well beyond his years.  He plays within himself, and consistently throws a catchable and accurate ball with excellent placement.  He would be much more highly regarded if he didn't have that long unorthodox release, and inconsistent mechanics, but he's a coachable player who can clean those things up, and even if he doesn't, it hasn't hampered his accuracy and ability to get the football out in time up to this point and he certainly wouldn't be the first successful NFL passer with mechanics that aren't exactly textbook.  He has the look of a young quarterback who can come in and be a reliable number two right off the bat and potentially develop into something more with the right coaching and continued development.  As I mentioned earlier, Garrett Grayson's best quarterbacking is still ahead of him

Draft Grade: Mid 2nd Round