This pick didn't surprise me in the least possible way. After striking out on JaMarcus Russel a few years back, the Raiders have been in search of their quarterback of the future, and will apparently give Pryor a shot to be that guy. They must have saw something they really liked in him during his workout this past week, cause they gave up their 3rd rounder in the 2012 draft in order to bring him in, and we all
know how deep next years draft will be with QB's. Don't get me wrong, Pryor was an explosive talent at Ohio State and a very good collegiate QB, but I don't really see him panning out in the NFL. If he makes it, he's going to have to do it in that Michael Vick/Vince Young mode where he can be a duel threat with the run and pass, but he doesn't posses the arm strength or the speed that Vick has, and isn't near the passer that Young is. That said, his arm isn't weak, he's got a quick release, can throw on the run and is obviously extremely athletic and mobile. He's got a lot to do to become an NFL caliber QB though, a lot of work on his delivery and throwing into tight windows (he has trouble throwing tight spirals often) and he's never ran anything close to a pro-style offense in Columbus. It should be very interesting to see exactly how the Raiders use him (after his 5 game suspension) and whether or not they'll give him a look this preseason? The unique thing about him is that if he doesn't pan out at QB, he could end up being a decent wideout with his size and speed. Here's some highlight video to get a better handle on Pryor's game.
Terrelle Pryor isn't the only new quarterback coming to town. Across the bay, in need for a QB as bad as any other team in the league, the 49ers finally added the veteran backup they've been looking for, but I'm not sure it's the guy that Niner fans necessarily wanted. Instead of trading for a good young backup like Josh Johnson or waiting out the waiver process for a potential gem, the
49ers picked former Raider Josh McCown instead of Daunte Cullpepper. McCown immediately will assume the #3 role on the QB depth chart, but if Alex Smith doesn't step it up in these last few preseason games, McCown could enter the starting picture. Although he looked better against the Raiders, I don't think they'd feel comfortable using Colin Kaepernick in a regular season game just yet, and after Alex Smith, they had nobody. I would have liked to see them be more active in free agency at the QB position, which according to Trent Baalke, they were but just couldn't get anything done. Vince Young or Matt Hasselbeck would have looked a lot better battling it out with Smith than Josh McCown. The 32 year-old has thrown a total of 6 passes in the NFL since 2007 and carried a QB rating of 69.7 that season as the part-time starter in Oakland. Something tells me they may still have their eye on potential quarterbacks.
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