McShay: Hard to imagine Pryor as NFL QB

Submitted by the monarch on

ESPN Insider article from Todd McShay pretty much says Pryor has little to no shot as an NFL QB. He has him ranked as a third round pick ONLY because of his potential to convert to a WR at the next level.

Bottom line, his inaccuracy is a problem as well as his poor football intelligence. (Let's just call that poor intelligence and not unneccesarily limit it, shall we?).

This kid has built up some really bad karma and it's just sitting in a bank vault somewhere waiting to spill out like an over-packed closet in a cartoon.

BlueDragon

June 1st, 2011 at 5:32 PM ^

He's the last piece to the Cleveland Browns puzzle.  First Super Bowl win (or appearance) with Pryor on their side, because he can dominate in any system.

rockydude

June 1st, 2011 at 5:42 PM ^

When you combine a few facts, I don't think it looks so good for Terrelle in the supplemental draft. Working on the assumption that he is not a NFL QB (feel free to disagree), you have a guy that has to learn a whole new position at the NFL level. Add to this the fact that he is not a team player, and that he totally lacks judgement and maturity, you've got a pretty dismal combination. If this is what the kid does in college, what can we expect from him after he gets a few NFL paychecks in his pocket? 

I wouldn't have a thing to do with him, but there's always the Raiders, Bengals, et al. I'd guess someone will take a flyer on him in the 5th round or so.

Wolverine 73

June 1st, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^

Is a prototypical NFL pocket passer with a great arm and some character issues.  How long did he last in the draft?  Pryor doesn't have Mallett's arm or pocket presence, and he makes Ryan look like a choir boy.  He has never played WR or TE, where he seems to project as an alternative to QB.  Why would invest a draft pick on him before a late round?  TP is about to find out that all the NFL money he's been counting on isn't there, and there are no boosters waiting to make sure he has a nice set of wheels. 

Coach Kyle

June 1st, 2011 at 10:15 PM ^

I completely agree. I have no idea what this guy is talking about. I've watched Pryor throw into double coverage numerous times when he has wide open receivers and still complete it. The kid is crazy good at passing, but he's the definition of a dumbass. He might troll around some team for a couple of years as a bad starter or he might even get on a good team as a backup, but if he matures a little he might be great. The question is: who wants to get him over this rough period? He's making the NFL, and he's going to be a QB.

Frank Drebin

June 2nd, 2011 at 8:25 AM ^

I am not sure what you agree on. The post that you replied to said that Mallet runs circles around Pryor as a QB and as a person, and that it is a huge risk to draft Pryor to play a position that he has never played. You are saying that he is a bad decision maker but a good passer. Your statement contradicts itself. I am not sure if you were trying to agree with someone else, but it didn't make sense. Also, the only good thing Pryor has going for him as a QB at the next level is his size and ability to keep plays alive. He won't be able to get loose like he does in college, but he may have some Big Ben type qualities as far as abilities to avoid contact and extend plays. Even with that being said, I don't see him as a QB, and don't think he has the attitude and work ethic to make the change to WR.

bleedzblue

June 6th, 2011 at 3:14 AM ^

My sarcasm meter may be broke but you cannot be serious that Pryor is a "crazy good passer". My opinion is that his passing is his worst attribute as a QB, and in the NFL you do not need to have a super strong arm, (it helps) but accuracy and decision making outweigh arm strenght. Pryor has neither of those two qualities, I don't ever see him even being an average NFL QB. 

tricks574

June 1st, 2011 at 5:51 PM ^

His value is at Qb, because he's got that scrambler athleticism to create something out of nothing. That means 2 or 3 years of honing his delivery and teaching him to read defenses, all the while carrying one of the most controversial players in recent college football history on your roster, and there seems to be little chance the coaching would stick. Even if you put him at Wr, he's not a great fit anywhere. As athletic as he is, he's not a burner, and he's not particularly elusive in the open field. Plus he has zero experience running routes, which is already one of the biggest adjustments coming into the NFL, even for full time college WR. Maybe he could have some value as a big target near the goalline, but any non top 2 WR in the NFL should have special teams value, something he probably feels he is above. He's barely worth the roster spot right now, let alone the draft pick. Hopefully he can follow in Jared Lorenzen's footsteps and become GM/Qb of the soon to be formed Columbus Tribal Arm Bands of the AFL.

bleedzblue

June 6th, 2011 at 3:25 AM ^

I agree with everything you said but I'd also add that I think he afraid of contact. If you watch him when he breaks contain and heads up field when someone is about to come up and hit him, if he's near the sideline he steps out of bounds. I've seen a few times when he was scrambling and the first down line was a yard or two away he would duck out of bounds instead of taking the hit and trying to drive forward for the first down.

If you're a WR your going to get hit and get hit very hard sometimes, I could see him cutting off his route or just give up on some balls because he heard the footsteps and would be scared to take the hit. I couldn't see that sitting while with his QB or his teammates. 

markusr2007

June 1st, 2011 at 5:52 PM ^

The evidence doesn't support this. Do we really need to rattle off a list of crap quarterbacks who inexplicably played a down in the NFL, in some cases several seasons, flaming out spectactularly?

OK then. Let us count the ways in which Sundays exploded in national storms of fffffffffuuuuuhhhh....rage:

Rich Campbell

David Whitehurst

Mike Phipps

Randy Wright

Joey Harrington

Andre Ware

Rick Mirer

Heath Shuler

Ryan Leaf

Akili Smith

Tim Couch

David Carr

All of these guys royally sucked in the NFL.  They were godawful.

His royal Dumbness, Terrelle Pryor, doesn't even have to match that kind of suckage.  The question is can he be just nanometrically better than any of these college superstars? 

Absolutely he can.

There's plenty of reasons to hate the NFL and their quarterbacks starting with overly complicated playbooks, wimpy single and dual-bar faceguards and sissy sliding well short of a first down.

But the worst part about the NFL is this notion that only certain guys are the "caliber" to play quarterback at the NFL.

All I'm saying is if guys like David Whitehurst, Rich Campbell, Randy Wright  and wait for it Magic Don Majkowski can play starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, then Terrelle Pryor can find a spot too.

There's a longer list here that says that just aboutanybody can play at the NFL, suck, and continue to grab a decent paycheck with benefits, in some cases for multiple seasons..

That's all Terrelle Pryor ever wanted anyway.

Lac55

June 1st, 2011 at 5:56 PM ^

I almost died laughing the other day watching Matt Millen talk about Pryor and how he could be a qb at the next level and how he throws good and all this other high praise. HA! Of course we all know how great Millen was at evaluating talent.

bronxblue

June 1st, 2011 at 5:57 PM ^

I actually think Pryor could be a decent pass-catching TE (6'6", 240lbs is only a little lighter than Jeremy Shockey), and in the right system he could be a Kordell Stewart/Randle-El type guy who could serve as an H-Back and run some misdirection.  Heck, line him up in the Wildcat and see what happens.  I know people knock his lack of intelligence and funky delivery, but there simply are not that many physical specimens like him that come into the league every year, and on the right team I could see him succeed.  Part of me definitely wants to see him fall flat on his face, but someone will take a chance on him.  Heck, Tim Tebow was a 1st rounder, Cam Newton was a #1 pick, etc., and all of those guys had questions about their ability to be QBs (and yes, I know the character issues were less, at least with regards to Tebow).

Also, Todd McShay doesn't have all that much credibility in my eyes regarding the draft, what with Jevan Snead's career still buried in his backyard.  

Crazy Canuck

June 1st, 2011 at 6:04 PM ^

I bet the Raiders pick him up. If they can give JaMarcus Russell $61 million, there's no reason to believe that Al "the idiot" Davis won't go and get him. I can't believe you forgot JaMarcus.

R Kelly

June 1st, 2011 at 6:11 PM ^

What is the real difference between him and Cam Newton?  Is it only accuracy?  Because otherwise the two are almost identical in my eyes, both in terms of athletic ability and character.  

 

Yinka Double Dare

June 1st, 2011 at 6:30 PM ^

Well, one of them managed a national championship in probably the toughest conference, with inferior talent around him.  The comeback against Alabama was ridiculous.

Granted, perhaps a lot of that difference is having a bright OC calling your plays in a system that seems pretty much designed for the QB's talents instead of a some guy in a sweatervest mostly throwing rock, but it's still a difference.

SysMark

June 1st, 2011 at 6:36 PM ^

Newton is a much better passer, and has a much higher overall awareness of the field.  I haven't seen him play that much but when I did was very favorably impressed relative to Pryor.

Yes, standing still they look very similar but that's where it ends.

Also, to say "only accuracy" doesn't quite grasp how important accuracy is in the NFL.  It is really, really important, much moreso than in college.  The spacing receivers get in the NFL is smaller and everything closes faster.

kmanning

June 1st, 2011 at 6:36 PM ^

 

Cam was on a better team and was much better at getting money from his university?

Joking aside, there isn't much difference. I think if you're going to look at potential upside, you can look back to someone like Steve McNair. Give him a couple years on the bench with a decent mentor and he might be able to make something of himself. Who knows, people can grow up in a hurry at times.

Now, I personally think QBs like Pryor/Newton/Vince Young are way too risky to spend much of anything on, but I can see why teams take that risk. I think some team would probably take a risk on someone like Pryor.

turtleboy

June 1st, 2011 at 6:22 PM ^

college systems that don't prepare their top kids to go pro. Lot's of kids make the transition from qb to safety or wideout but they do it when they're 17. TP pretty much looks screwed after college too, now.

kmanning

June 1st, 2011 at 6:42 PM ^

 

I would imagine because college coaches are more interested in winning games than making sure their players do well in the pros. Now, the kids doing well in the pros is important to a coach I'm sure, so if they can help them they will, but why take your Heisman contender QB and make him a WR just so he could do better in the NFL? Especially if it works in college to use that guy at QB.

To put it better, should Hoke move Denard to WR so he has a better chance at making it in the pros in a few years?

BornInAA

June 1st, 2011 at 6:37 PM ^

has never taken hits.

He had a big OL and was instructed to jog out the sideline for 3 yds in Tresselball.

That and is Clarett attitude of entitlement will doom him.

Watch - I predict he will have a laywer, PR agent etc. in a few weeks acting like he is already a NFL player.

lilpenny1316

June 1st, 2011 at 6:39 PM ^

A developmental 6'5" WR is what Bellichek would see.  He might be a ginormous idiot, but he doesn't have a drug issue or violent history to outrun -- that we know of -- and that's what trips up a lot of people (ie. Matt Jones).  Put him in a stable NFL franchise and we'll quickly find out what he's made of.

 

MGlobules

June 1st, 2011 at 7:28 PM ^

Unless I am mistaken, markusr is getting it right here. Pryor will get his cup of coffee and his several millions, have his chance to prove he can contribute. We are exulting now, but this is not likely to prove a victory for the people. 

bryemye

June 1st, 2011 at 9:20 PM ^

Unless Pryor grows a pair I don't see him being a good tightend. He would have a ton to learn at WR but as a project he might be worth a flyer?

If the Lions take him I'm rioting.

Hopefully he goes to the Raiders or something.