Browns' Terrelle Pryor Has Found Perfect Situation to Succeed as an NFL Wideout
Terrelle Pryor is still trying to make it in the NFL. After several years of trying to accomplish the goal as a quarterback, the former Ohio State Buckeyes star is now giving it a go as a wide receiver.
He may have found the perfect opportunity this offseason to do exactly that.
Pryor first entered the league back in 2011 in the supplemental draft. The Oakland Raiders took the 6'4" quarterback prospect in the third round and developed him over the next few seasons as a possible quarterback of the future.
Though he failed to become a franchise signal-caller in Oakland, Pryor got his opportunities. During the 2013 season, for example, Pryor appeared in 11 total games and made nine starts. Pryor also showed some flashes of top-level talent during his time in Oakland—his 93-yard touchdown run against the Pittsburgh Steelers set an NFL record for a quarterback.
Unfortunately, Pryor never could transform his prototypical size and freakish athleticism into sustained success as a pro signal-caller. His career completion percentage sits at 56.3, and his career passer rating is 69.3. Even worse, Pryor has shown a tendency to be careless with the football. He has 12 career interceptions and seven fumbles (two lost) to go with his nine career passing touchdowns.
| 302 | 170 | 56.3 | 1,953 | 9 | 12 | 69.3 |
Inaccuracy and a turnover habit are likely why Pryor has struggled to even catch on as a backup in recent years. Teams want a guy who can step in, be efficient, operate a system and protect the football. That just hasn't been Pryor's identity.
Pryor did manage to catch on with the Cleveland Browns last season, though only after announcing he would make a position switch to wide receiver.
Why Wide Receiver?
Pryor is a big, fast and physical football player—NFL.com lists him at 6'4" and 233 pounds—so when it became clear that he wasn't going to get any more chances as a quarterback, he had other options.
Assuming Pryor wasn't interested in switching to the defensive side of the ball, his choices were essentially this: bulk up and try to make it as a tight end, or lean out and give wide receiver a try. If Pryor were shorter and more compact, running back might have been another possibility.
Receiver made the most sense.
For one, Pryor has plenty of speed for the position. He was clocked in the 4.3-second range at his pro day before coming into the NFL. He is fast enough to blow past defensive backs of average quickness and is quick enough to evade would-be tacklers and pursuers in the open field. If you need proof, just check out that 93-yard run he produced against Pittsburgh a few years ago.
Wide receiver also made sense because, as a quarterback, Pryor was already familiar with receiver routes and timing. He obviously wasn't experienced running those routes, but the concepts were far from foreign.
If Pryor would have gone the tight end route, he would have had to significantly improve his blocking. Naturally, teams would be more interested in a tall, physical wideout with elite speed than an undersized receiving-only tight end.
So Pryor joined the Browns last offseason as a raw and underprepared receiver prospect. As you might expect, his first year at the position didn't exactly go smoothly.
The 2015 Season
Pryor's first offseason as a wide receiver went about like you might expect it to go. He was raw running routes, he had issues with catching consistency and, well, he looked like a top-tier athlete who had never played the position before.
Still, the Browns kept him on the roster all the way through to 53-man roster cuts. This decision was made despite the fact Pryor was injured for most of training camp and only appeared in one preseason game. Obviously, Cleveland liked the size-speed potential he brought to the proverbial table and wanted to give him a chance in the regular season to show what he could do.
Well, sort of.
The Browns waived Pryor just before the start of the regular season, after being awarded running back Robert Turbin off waivers.
"This will be a mistake by them," Pryor told Northeast Ohio Media Group after last year's release.
The decision to cut Pryor might have indeed been a mistake, but mainly because Turbin (18 carries, 60 yards) was a flop with the Browns. Teams weren't scrambling to scoop up Pryor, and he was still available when the Browns decided to re-sign him in early December.
Pryor got his first catch in the final game of the 2015 season—an impressive 42-yard reception. That catch may just have been the start of something special.
Why Is This Year Different?
The first thing we must do is recognize that Pryor is a year older, a year wiser and has a year more receiver experience. Though he is obviously still more raw than a guy who has played the position for many years, Pryor isn't the same receiver he was a year ago.
Pryor has been impressing people like head coach Hue Jackson with his improvement this offseason, as Pat McManamon of ESPN.com recently explained:
"Pryor looks far more comfortable at receiver than he did last season, and his skills seem to be the kind that Jackson likes. Pryor is a big guy who can run and who can be moved around the offense. The Browns signed Pryor just before training camp last season, then he was sidelined by injury. ... Now he's healthy, running well and catching the ball. It's way too soon to say Pryor has made the transition — Pryor has yet to play in pads against Joe Haden in press coverage — but as Jackson said: "He's flashed the last several days."
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It's fair to assume that Pryor has reached a point in his progression where he doesn't have to think as much about what he's doing at the receiver position, and that's huge. If he can run, cut, break and track the football without having to mentally process every step, his natural athleticism can take over.
According to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, Pryor has been working with one of the most athletic receivers in NFL history:
In addition to being a more experienced receiver, Pryor also benefits from a fairly impressive coaching staff. Last year's head coach was Mike Pettine, whom many might believe owner Jimmy Haslam hired as a last-ditch option. Jackson was widely viewed as the top coaching candidate this offseason, and his background lies in offense.
Jackson is backed by associate head coach Pep Hamilton and senior offensive assistant Al Saunders. The two are veteran coaches who have decades of experience to offer a player like Pryor.
Pryor is soaking up the knowledge the trio of offensive coaches has to offer. Their presence is also giving Pryor confidence.
"[I'm] 10 times [better than last year]," Pryor recently said during OTAs, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "I look at the film and it amazes me, and I give that to Saunders, because just sitting there and doing the extra meeting time with him and him really breaking down certain routes to me and how he wants them run, it's awesome."
Pryor's coaches have seen enough progress from the 26-year-old that the team was comfortable releasing veteran wideout Brian Hartline. Pro Football Focus rated Hartline first among Browns receivers who logged more than 100 snaps in 2015.
Hartline, though, doesn't appear to have any hard feelings about the decision and has encouraged Pryor to keep pushing:
Hartline's release only increases Pryor's odds of making the roster.
Roster Talent
The talent—or general lack thereof—on Cleveland's roster is one of the biggest reasons why Pryor has an excellent chance of earning a regular role this season. The Browns just don't have proven playmakers.
Cleveland is probably looking at either Robert Griffin III or Josh McCown at quarterback this year. Running backs Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson have shown promise but are largely unproven. The wide receiving corps outside of Pryor could be comprised almost entirely of rookies, as the Browns drafted four wideouts this year.
The only real weapon on offense is tight end Gary Barnidge, assuming, of course, that Josh Gordon doesn't make a surprise return from suspension.
Pryor's combination of size and speed gives him the type of big-play potential that few other players—and virtually no veterans—on Cleveland's roster can.
The Hue Jackson Effect
Perhaps the biggest reason why Pryor can take a roster spot into the season and find success is the presence of Jackson.
Jackson was head coach of the Raiders in Pryor's rookie season, so there is some familiarity there. Jackson knows a bit about Pryor as a person and as a player. However, it's Jackson's offensive schemes that should really set Pryor up for success this year.
The Browns have already made it known that the team plans to utilize a run-oriented offense, and this shouldn't be a surprise. Jackson's offense with the Cincinnati Bengals over the last two years relied heavily on the ground game and on play action.
Browns run game coordinator Kirby Wilson recently explained why that mentality will be coming to Cleveland, per the Browns' official website:
"I think when you look at Coach Jackson's background, he is a 'quarterback guru.' He has done a tremendous job over the years with that, but if you look at his record, in terms of running the football and the amount that he runs it, you're going to find out that he really, truly does enjoy running the football.
We are going to be a run-oriented football team. Everything starts with the run game, our offensive line and our backs. As coach told us, we are going to be a physically dominant, running football team.
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By running the football with frequency, Jackson can then open up the passing game with play action, which is good news for Pryor.
Utilizing play action typically buys time for the quarterback to attack downfield. The Bengals used this strategy quite a bit under Jackson last season. According to Pro Football Focus, quarterbacks Andy Dalton and AJ McCarron combined for 125 play-action dropbacks in their 16 combined regular-season starts. Only nine quarterbacks dropped back in play action more.
At this stage in his development, Pryor is probably better suited to win with size and speed on vertical routes and deep crossing patterns. He isn't as likely to win on underneath routes with superior route running. Therefore, the play-action strategy will play to Pryor's strengths.
Pryor's background as a quarterback also makes him a fine fit for gadget plays, which are something Jackson seems to enjoy running. With the Bengals, he sometimes used receiver Mohamed Sanu as a runner and as a passer.
In two seasons under Jackson, Sanu went 3-of-3 for 79 yards and a touchdown while rushing 17 times for 122 yards and two scores.
Even if Pryor is only a part-time vertical threat and gadget player this season, he can find success in Jackson's offense.
Beyond 2016
If Pryor can succeed this season, even on a limited basis, he should have a great opportunity to continue growing with the Browns franchise.
Cleveland is in the early stages of what appears to be a long-term rebuilding process. Pryor will turn just 27 years old this offseason, and he can grow and develop alongside young offensive players like Crowell, Johnson and first-round rookie Corey Coleman.
The first step, of course, will be showing enough growth this year to entice Cleveland to extend Pryor past his current one-year deal. The good news for Pryor is that he couldn't ask for a better opportunity to show that growth than the one he'll get with the Browns this season.
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