Colorado State QB Garrett Grayson NFL Draft Scouting Notes

The 2015 NFL Draft class of quarterbacks is certainly not an overwhelming one, but the hidden gem of the class might be Colorado State’s Garrett Grayson. Grayson, a senior this past season for the Rams, finished his collegiate career with two years of starting under his belt for Jim McElwain — now the head coach at Florida — and closed things out with a bang.

Grayson finished his senior season completing over 64 percent of his passes for 4,006 yards, 32 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. More than just solid stats in what many would see from the outside looking in as a weaker conference, Grayson has every physical tool you want to see out of a young quarterback, including size, athleticism, arm strength, and the ability to make good decisions with the football.

That is evidenced by his lack of interceptions, but something refreshing for NFL scouts will be the fact that Grayson has played in a pro-style offense at Colorado State under McElwain, the former offensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban, and he excelled as he continued to develop.

He’s not the big name of a Marcus Mariota or Jamies Winston, obviously, nor is he that gifted, but Grayson is a really good prospect in his own right who participated in the Senior Bowl and over this past season, gave teams reason to believe he could be a starting NFL quarterback.

When you watch Grayson play, you notice every trait that you look for in an NFL quarterback. He is poised in the pocket, makes all the requisite throws, puts touch on throws downfield, is good adjusting to the play outside the pocket, and his scheme versatility. He doesn’t have the natural arm talent coming out of a guy like Jay Cutler or anything like that, but Grayson makes up for it with the way he uses the rest of his body to put more zip behind throws.

So what are his real weaknesses?

He doesn’t have an elongated windup, which slows release and can result in batted passes. He’s still growing as a quarterback, so he will oftentimes lock into his first read. Despite solid athletic ability, he’s not really a guy who is going to improvise and make a ton happen like a Russell Wilson.

That’s not really a problem for me. I think Grayson can grow and propel himself into a solid NFL starter if he’s given some time to develop. I think he’s further along than Jimmy Garoppolo was last offseason and can step into a situation where if he doesn’t have to play right away, he can learn an offense, get comfortable, and progress in that way.

I really like this guy as a prospect, and I think he can be one of the best QBs from this class before all is said and done.