Cleveland Browns Should Take a Chance and Draft Terrelle Pryor

Before you jump down my throat, hear me out.

As an Ohio State fan I'm still upset with Terrelle Pryor for basically killing the Buckeyes' football program. I'm willing to forgive him for what happened and Coach Tressel getting fired...it doesn't mean I have to like it.

I thought that he was over-hyped, cocky and an underachiever.

I don't know if he has the necessary skills to be an NFL quarterback or the mental and physical toughness to play any other position in the league.

I love Colt McCoy and think he's everything we want him to be and believe that he's the guy who will lead the Cleveland Browns to the promised land. And I think he's a way better QB than Pryor.

But you know what? There are only a handful of players in the world who are as physically gifted as Terrelle Pryor.

And that's why I think the Browns should give him a shot by taking him in the supplemental draft. (The obvious hedge on this statement is that it has to be for the right price. Certainly not a first-rounder and probably not a second either. But I'd take him for a third no problem.)

The reason I began to think about this possibility was when I read about how much the Eagles were able to get back in the trade with Arizona for Kevin Kolb. 

Philadelphia received Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round pick. A veritable king's ransom for a guy with only seven career starts, a 3-4 record, a 60 percent completion percentage, 11 TD's and 14 INT's.

The Eagles were able to pull off this masterful deal based solely on the hype and mystery factor. Could Kolb end up being a very good QB? Sure! Is he a lock? No way!

Andy Reid has been playing up Kolb since they (current Browns GM Tom Heckert included) drafted him in 2007. They talked about how impressed they were with him. They only unveiled him in preseason situations where it was almost impossible for him to fail.

And then they unloaded their washed-up QB (Donovan McNabb) and claimed it was because they were "confident" in Kolb.

Well, he wasn't even able to keep that new starting job for a full year before losing it to Michael Vick. And after all that they were still able to get a second-round pick (where he was drafted) and an above-average cornerback.

The Eagles simply told everyone how good he was and waited for a needy team to come calling.

Why can't this be done with Terrelle Pryor as well? There's no doubt that given a little tutelage at QB he could go out and impress in preseason games and at selected times during the regular season.

This can then be spun into a trade in a few years to a desperate team that thinks the Pryor could be their savior. There will always be teams in need of a new QB.

In the meantime, the Browns could use him in special packages as a wildcat or in a Brad Smith type role.

The crazy thing to is that I think this actually a possibility. Pat Shurmer didn't rule out taking a chance on Pryor during a press conference on Wednesday.

OK, the actual quote was, "We haven't finally discussed what's going to happen there yet."

But it would have been very easy to just say, "No, that's not something we're looking to do at this time" or some generic coach-speak like that.

I have no idea if it will happen. And I bet it would not be a super popular move with most cross-over Buckeyes/Browns fans who are still harboring ill feelings toward Pryor.

But don't forget that this guy did some amazing things in his three years at Ohio State.

Did he struggle at times? Yes, in fact, at times he looked downright awful.

But for every one of those bad plays there was another one that made you jump out of your seat and look at your buddy and say, "How the crap did he just do that?"

He can make plays that no one else can make (except for Cam Newton).

Sometimes you need to just sit back and pass on an unproven project.

But sometimes it's just worth it to take a chance on talent.

You can follow me on Twitter @ClevelandFlack