Yesterday, the Oakland Raiders surrendered a 2012 third round draft choice to take Terrelle Pryor in the NFL Supplemental Draft. Given Al Davis’s lust for players with speed and size, the fact that he went to the Raiders is not shocking. What did surprise a number of pundits was that the Raiders used their third round selection to take him.
On the surface, this seems like a bit of a reach. Most people figured that he would cost a fifth or sixth round draft choice. If the Raiders were concerned that a team worse than they were would have selected Pryor, the logical move was to use a better pick. However, the Raiders did not have a fourth round selection in next year’s draft, hence why they had to use the third round selection.
With Pryor now being taken by a team, people now wonder what position he is going to play. He was a tremendous college quarterback, much like Tim Tebow. Also like Tebow, many think that the best chance for him to make an impact would be to switch positions. Yet, unlike Tebow, Pryor’s entire throwing motion does not need to be overhauled to the extent Tebow’s needs to be. Pryor certainly has the arm and ability to play quarterback in the NFL, unlike Tebow.
Oakland is also a solid landing spot for Pryor, which is a moderately shocking concept. He can be groomed as a quarterback of the future, which is something the Raiders need to develop. Having Jason Campbell, a solid NFL quarterback and a good citizen as a mentor, will help Pryor’s acclimation to the league. Once the mental part of the game is there, Pryor could be quite dangerous as a quarterback. With that speed and the threat of his arm, Pryor will be able to make plays with his legs, either by getting time for his receivers to get open or by running for first downs. While it is unlikely that Pryor turns into a game changing player in the mold of a Mike Vick, there are a few similarities in their abilities. Should he turn into anything even close to Vick, the Raiders got a steal.
Terrelle Pryor has a future in the NFL. And it will be as a quarterback for the Raiders.
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