Will Grier's wait was longer than he had expected, but it's over. The former West Virginia quarterback was picked No. 100 overall Friday by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the NFL draft. He's the 10th Mountaineer quarterback to be taken in the history of the draft and the fourth in the past 20, joining Geno Smith in 2012, Pat White in 2009 and Marc Bulger in 2000. Smith and White were second-round picks selected Nos. 39 and 44. Bulger was a sixth-round pick and No. 168 overall. Grier, of course, wasn't certain where he'd be picked, but he was positive he was the best quarterback in a draft that saw Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray selected No. 1, Duke's Daniel Jones No. 6 and Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins No. 15. And that was just the first round. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and originally a recruit and starter at the University of Florida, Grier considered the draft a year ago after dislocating a finger and breaking his hand trying to score on a bootleg in the 11th regular-season game against Texas. However, Grier was told he was likely to be drafted no earlier than the second round and no later than the fourth. He opted against a "significant financial opportunity" and returned to school to address some unfinished business. As a Heisman Trophy contender, he had the Mountaineers in the hunt for the Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff bid this season, but the Mountaineers lost the final regular season game to Oklahoma despite Grier completing 32 of 49 passes for 532 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. With the postseason outlook dimmed, Grier chose to skip the team's bowl game and the loss to Syracuse, and he later cited an ankle injury as the culprit. He's nevertheless near the top of a handful of career passing rankings in WVU history despite playing just two seasons. He initially signed with Florida in the 2014 class and was 5-0 as the starter as the Gators were unbeaten and in the top 10 halfway through the 2015 season. Grier then tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for a year by the NCAA. He left Florida and enrolled at WVU, where he'd have to sit out the 2016 season as a transfer. The Mountaineers went about petitioning for his immediate eligibility to start the 2017 season, and Grier was indeed the starter for the season-opening loss to Virginia Tech. Grier, his wife and their daughter would swoon for Morgantown, and Grier commemorated this chapter of his life with a tattoo on his left shoulder.<doc-sep>You’re probably aware by now that the Carolina Panthers used the No. 100 overall pick in the NFL Draft last night to select quarterback Will Grier. I’m sure you are also aware that the Panthers currently have a 29-year-old franchise quarterback named Cam Newton. Putting those two pieces of information together, I’m sure you’re probably thinking anything from ‘Well, that’s gonna be awkward.’ to ‘Oh god, what have we done? !’. I’m here to tell you something: Slow down, take a minute and breathe. Everything’s gonna be okay, y’all. The Panthers didn’t draft Grier to create a quarterback controversy or to shove Newton unceremoniously through the door. They drafted Grier as a backup plan in case Newton’s shoulder isn’t completely ready to go before the season begins. A backup quarterback, in other words. This is gonna be hard to read, but stay with me here: Drafting a young quarterback to be Cam’s back up makes perfect sense. Cam Newton is 29 years old and has had shoulder surgery twice in the last three years. He has two years left on his contract, and when that contract is up he will be 31 years old. Now, I’m not saying that the Panthers are going to kick him out of the building when his contract expires. I’m not saying that they don’t want to pay him. I’m just saying that they are giving themselves a backup option in case something else happens to Cam’s shoulder, or if the organization feels that giving him an additional five-year, $200 million contract when he’s 31 is untenable. Smart NFL teams always have a plan. Sometimes that plan may not make sense at the time, but it’s always a good idea to be prepared in case something bad happens. In the past when something bad happened to a Panthers quarterback, our options were to start Chris Weinke, David Carr, Matt Moore, Vinny Testaverde*, Brian St. Pierre, Derek Anderson, Garrett Gilbert, Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that teams should have to keep two All-Pro quarterbacks on the roster at all times just in case something happens. And yes, when a franchise quarterback suffers a season-ending injury it’s expected to see the team struggle to win games, but that doesn’t mean that teams should just put random JAGs on the depth chart and hope for the best. Slow down, take a minute and breathe. Everything’s gonna be okay, y’all. The Panthers made a decision last night to draft a backup quarterback at a good value. There’s a chance that Grier never takes a meaningful snap for the Panthers because Newton’s shoulder is 100% healed and he returns to his 2015 MVP-winning form. There’s also a chance that Grier has to start 13 games because Cam’s shoulder is not ready. But there’s also an in-between that isn’t being discussed — there’s a chance that Grier has to start a game in Week 8 and another game in Week 15, or that Grier has to come in and play the second half in a close game. That’s what the Panthers are preparing for, and getting arguably the third best quarterback in this draft class at the bottom of the third round is a tremendous value. I’ve said this once already but in case you forgot I’ll remind you: Everything’s gonna be okay, y’all. There’s no quarterback controversy, and there’s no reason to freak out just yet. Stay the course, and as always — Keep Pounding. *- To be fair, Testaverde was like the 27th quarterback they called that year. He doesn’t really count because their next option was to let random fans take snaps.<doc-sep>The Carolina Panthers have selected Will Grier out of West Virginia with the No. 100 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Backup quarterback is a glaring need for the Carolina Panthers, but perhaps not the most glaring one they still had. Regardless of that fact, we know the Panthers liked this guy and it was a pretty good bet that when he was still sitting there near the end of the third round, that they would go out and get him. Grier is a very talented quarterback, and I’m sure it helped his cause that he’s a native Charlottean. With Cam Newton’s health in question, it makes a lot of sense to get him a young developmental backup, especially when he lasted twice as long as you thought he would. So what do you think of the pick Panthers fans? I expect a really large spread of grades to come in regarding this pick, especially with the other needs that still need filling.<doc-sep>
Panthers’ third-round pick Will Grier may or may not turn out to be a quality starting quarterback in the NFL some day. We do know that getting him with the No. 100 pick is a steal given his value. Over an hour before Grier was taken off the board, Pro Football Focus had him ranked as the best player still available. Will Grier tops the best available prospects for the 2019 #NFLDraft:https://t.co/2kvsM92vMN pic.twitter.com/UgFysvuCVs — Pro Football Focus (@PFF) April 27, 2019 In many ways, Grier is a typical developmental kind of quarterback. He will have to learn how to throw under pressure, but his decision making and patience in the pocket are good qualities for a backup to have. Grier isn’t a game manager, though. He has the ability to drive the ball and move the chains. According to PFF, he has the second-highest grade on throws of 10 yards or more in this class. Other people like the pick, as well. Draft Wire gave the Panthers an A+ grade. Here’s what Luke Easterling had to say about getting Grier at 100: “Daniel Jones went No. 6 overall, but the Panthers get a better quarterback nearly 100 picks later. Grier has all the tools to be a successful starter at the next level, and he’ll get to come along slowly behind Cam Newton.” Right on the money. It’s hard for a quarterback prospect to come into a better situation than Grier is with Carolina this year. Unless Newton’s shoulder suffers a serious setback and he misses a lot of games, Grier should have plenty of time to develop as a passer before he really has to step up and perform.