New England Patriots: Seven-round 2019 NFL Mock Draft

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MORGANTOWN, WV – NOVEMBER 23: Will Grier #7 of the West Virginia Mountaineers passes against the Oklahoma Sooners on November 23, 2018 at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Round 4, Pick 134: Will Grier, QB, West Virginia

“Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong,
West Virginia, mountain mama,
Take me home, country roads…”

The Patriots give David Sills the perfect training camp roommate when they select his college teammate and best buddy Will Grier. Originally a transfer from the University of Florida, Grier owns a career passing accuracy percentage of 65.7. He also threw for over 7,000 yards in just 22 games as the Mountaineers’ starting quarterback, and was good for 71 touchdowns against 20 picks.

While not much of a runner, Grier throws one of the best deep balls in all of college. He has exceptional pocket presence and is a master at sensing and evading oncoming pressure. Amongst all qualified collegiate quarterbacks, he ranked No. 3 overall in adjusted completion percentage against the blitz (statistic courtesy of ProFootballFocus).

At 6’2 and 217-lbs, he looks the part of a starting NFL quarterback. While flashier, buzzier names like Kyler Murray, Drew Haskins, Daniel Jones, and Drew Lock garner most of the headlines in this year’s QB draft class, Grier is usually listed as a distant fifth in that same hierarchy. Some scouts and analysts even peg prospects like Ryan Finley and Jarrett Stidham above him.

In other words, Grier could go as high as Round 2 or as low as Round 5. It’s always hard to predict what teams will do, particularly when it comes to drafting quarterbacks.

The Patriots are in the enviable position of already having the Greatest Quarterback of All Time as their unquestioned starter in 2019. Even though Tom Brady will be 42 by the time the season rolls around, he proved over the last few years that he’s every bit as good as the other top quarterbacks in the NFL – many of whom are a full decade younger than him.

It’s age and age alone that forces the Patriots to make this pick, as they know they won’t have Brady around forever. Even Tom Terrific himself has said he only plans to play another two-to-three years more at most, so now seems like the perfect time to draft a successor who can sit behind Brady and learn from the master.

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