Rookie Scouting Portfolio contributor Mark Schofield shares one of the areas where 2019 NFL Draft prospect Will Grier must improve his diagnosis of defenses in this week’s RSP Scouting Lens.

We all know the idiom: “Never assume. It makes an….”

As I said, we all know the idiom, so there’s no sense in completing it here.

That phrase applies in all walks of life, including playing quarterback. Even the most veteran and wise of passers can be caught with their pants down by a defense if they assume what they see in the pre-snap phase of a play is what they will get once the ball is snapped.

Let’s talk about Will Grier for a moment. Grier is one of the more intriguing names in a curious quarterback class. I have him graded as my QB5 in this group, ahead of players such as Daniel Jones, who is seemingly locked into being drafted ahead of Grier and likely in the first round. Others, such as our fearless leader at the RSP, consider him the top prospect in this draft.

While many things about Grier stand out, there are a few things that he needs to clean up an develop as he transitions into the NFL. One of them is the dangers of assumption:

Grier thinks he diagnoses the defense here in the pre-snap phase, based on the alignment and stance of a certain defender. But instead, he gets baited into a mistake. One of the things that Grier will need to work on as he transitions to life in the NFL is confirming his pre-snap expectations. While even the most veteran NFL passer can get baited into mistakes like this, the concern is that when Grier starts facing more talented defenders, who can do an even better job at baiting him into mistakes, he’ll continue to throw interceptions. Taking that extra half step or beat at times to confirm what your eyes are showing you can go a long way for a young quarterback.

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