Terrelle Pryor: 5 Questions About San Francisco 49ers Making a Run at the QB

I can't say I'm shocked that Terrelle Pryor is bolting from The Ohio State University despite his promise to stay and serve his suspension for selling his own stuff for tattoos. I'm not.

The NCAA asked for this when they allowed the guy to play in a bowl game—they didn't take it all that seriously (hey, ratings!), so why should he?

Once the coach was gone, it was a matter of time.

I think it's a tremendous mistake in some respects, though I can't blame him for not wanting to stick around once his personal shield, Jim Tressel, got the boot.

All of which is a prelude to set you up for just how much I think it's a mistake—a waste of time even—for the 49ers to even consider drafting Pryor.

Don't get me wrong—his athletic ability is exceptional. The man is amazing to watch.

Many, many, many college athletes have been exceptional athletes, though, and not produced at the pro level. Pryor could be poised to be one of them.

Here are five reasons why I think the 49ers need to avoid Pryor in the supplemental draft.

1) Do They Need Two of Colin Kaepernick?

Before you tell me how much better Pryor is than Kaepernick, I'll grant you that his ability to scramble is superior to Kaepernick's.

However, as Mike Mayock—the guy who made the initial Kaepernick/Pryor comparison—points out, while Kaepernick had lots of time to make a team like the 49ers believers in his ability, Pryor won't.

The fact is, even if Pryor had the time to allow a team like San Francisco to get to know him, the franchise just spent a second-rounder after trading away its second, fourth and fifth-round picks to Denver to move up and take Kaepernick.

In my view, Kaepernick has already shown solid accuracy and a big arm, as well as the ability to move outside the pocket and hurt you with his feet.

While Pryor will devastate a defense with his scrambling ability, he's got as far to go—one might argue further—as Kaepernick does at this point.

Why waste yet another pick to duplicate what you already have?

2) Attitude

I figured we might as well get this out of the way quickly.

While I think the NCAA rules for what players can do with their own stuff (what they can and cannot do to earn money and how much money they may earn) are outdated and ridiculous, Pryor knew he was in the wrong. He did it anyway.

It's not the only thing he's been accused of; the laundry list includes driving without a license (hang the man), accepting money and accepting cars at either a reduced or potentially-free rate.

All of this gets a big "allegedly," as nothing has been proven yet. In all likelihood, nothing will get proven for years if the Reggie Bush/USC investigation is any indication.

Aside from a potential concern with a certain amount of perceived entitlement, there are some questions about how willing he is to put in the time necessary to become a solid NFL QB.

Will he find this entire process, with its doubters and naysayers, motivating? Or will it cause him to shut his ears to anyone who points out a flaw in his game?

Also, given the attitude questions, one has to wonder whether or not he could play nice with Kaepernick, David Carr and most importantly Alex Smith.

If this were a normal draft process, he'd have the combine, pro day and team interviews to quell those fears.

He doesn't have that to work with, so the doubt about his maturity level is going to be hanging out there the whole process.

Why risk a pick on an unproven commodity you can't even talk to?

3) He Can Run, but Can He Throw?

I'll say this for Pryor: His accuracy did improve this year. Overall, though, I still question his mechanics and throwing motion and wonder if he can finesse them enough to avoid becoming a defensive back's favorite quarterback.

I'll be honest and admit I need to watch more game tape of him, but from what I've seen, he isn't a guy who I think can make all the NFL throws you'd want a quarterback to be able to make.

You don't have to take my word for it (many of you don't anyway)—you can read what Greg Cosell, co-author of the excellent The Games That Changed the Game and NFL Films producer, has written on Pryor.

In the midst of a long set of tweets about the former OSU quarterback, Cosell had this to say:

"

Many issues that need major work. 2 are average arm strength + erratic accuracy. Little velocity. Can't drive ball. Poor passer.

"

Cosell has probably forgotten more about the game than most of us can hope to know, but he's not perfect. He'd be the first to tell you that.

Still, it jibes with many of the things I've seen in my cursory evaluations, as well as what many more-seasoned analysts than myself have said.

Pryor clearly has a lot of work to do. Why go out of your way to bring on a guy who is this much of a fixer-upper, especially when, again, you just drafted a slightly more-polished version with a bigger arm in April?

Does he have the mentality needed to truly improve his game? Speaking of which...

4) Can He Learn to Read a Defense?

One of the biggest hurdles for any college quarterback's transition to the pro level is learning to read the various complex defensive schemes he will see in the NFL.

This ain't the Big Ten.

I'm not sold that Pryor can learn to read and react to the myriad of blitz packages a Rex Ryan will throw at him or not get baited by a savvy cornerback like Nnamdi Asomugha or Darrelle Revis or a veteran like Charles Woodson. Nor do I feel confident that he'll be able to pick up on a Ray Lewis or Clay Matthews blitz.

I'm not saying he isn't smart—I merely have reservations about his ability to deal with a NFL defense.

Yes, in all likelihood he would be relegated to, at worst, the practice squad, at best being a third-string quarterback for at least the first year or two. Maybe he sees the field as part of a Wildcat package. So he might have a lot of time to work it all out.

By that time, Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick will have had a shot. If they aren't the answer, wouldn't it make more sense to grab someone a little closer to a finished product?

5) Conserve Your Picks

This part has nothing to do with Pryor directly, but more about not mortgaging the future for a risky proposition today.

Whatever team takes a player in this year's supplemental draft will forfeit the pick of the round it takes the player in.

In other words, if the 49ers take a player—Pryor or not—in the fourth round of the supplemental draft, they give up their fourth round in the 2012 NFL draft.

It's not just about the pick, either. As I mentioned earlier, the franchise coughed up several picks to move up for Kaepernick. If they start throwing around picks now, they could find themselves lacking enough ammunition to move up for another player next year.

Or perhaps miss out on a player whose value falls. Or even trade back from the fourth-round pick for more picks to use on other players.

All this for a blind dice roll at a position you just tried to shore up.

This whole quarterback class—which you can add Pryor into now officially—has been rife with question marks. If Pryor had gone through the draft process, teams might have been able to really find out the answers to the former Ohio State quarterback's question marks.

As it stands, they now have to decide for themselves what is and isn't true about him and his ability.

For the 49ers, I feel the risks far outweigh the rewards.