New Orleans Saints select Garrett Grayson No. 75 in 2015 NFL draft

Garrett Grayson is the third quarterback to be selected in the 2015 NFL draft, picked No. 75 by the New Orleans Saints.

Doug Farrar | May 1, 2015

New Orleans Saints select Garrett Grayson No. 75 in 2015 NFL draft /

Depending on your view of things, Garrett Grayson, the Saints' pick at No. 75, is either a quarterback with a great deal of upside who just needs time in a pro-level offense, or a low-ceiling guy who feasted on inferior competition at Colorado State. But his tape reveals a player who understands the little things about his position that a lot of guys in this draft class don't. Grayson will move to his second and third reads, look the safety off, and he looks like he's in command. He's thought to have a limited arm, but Pro Football Focus has him as one of the best collegiate deep passers in the 2014 season. Grayson may not blow you away with anything he does in particular, but he could eventually surprise and become an NFL starter. And having Drew Brees and Sean Payton ostensibly showing him the ropes certainly won't hurt.

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Strengths: Throws a great deep ball and formed a terrific rapport with Colorado State wideout Rashard Higgins, who led the FBS in receiving in 2014. He delivers the ball with plenty of velocity and often puts it exclusively where his receivers can catch it. Steadily improved in each season at the college level. He has shown confidence under duress and in the clutch: Grayson tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter to beat Boston College in September.

Weaknesses: Has been dinged for his slow release, which could prove problematic against NFL pass rushes. His mechanics tend to falter when he is flushed from the pocket, and he's anything but a rushing threat; he ran for a combined 283 yards (1.3 per carry) during his four years on campus. Though cool under pressure, Grayson sometimes has tunnel vision-—more than a third of his completions went to Higgins last fall.

Player comparison:Ryan Fitzpatrick

Grade: A-

Published May 1, 2015

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.