Terrelle Pryor: Pittsburgh Steelers Would Be Perfect Fit for Polarizing Pryor

With embattled former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor's NFL future to be decided Monday at the NFL's supplemental draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have emerged as the front runner and most logical destination for his services.

Rich Walsh, a sports anchor for WPXI in Pittsburgh, tweeted that the Steelers and Pryor were in talks Sunday:

"Pryor meeting with Steelers before tomorrows supplemental draft"

In terms of the roster around him, there are few teams that would be a better fit for Pryor. The Steelers have a huge veteran presence on both sides of the ball. Pryor obviously has a lot of maturing to do, and nothing less than a marked improvement in that respect will be tolerated in that locker room. 

Speaking of strictly on-field performance, there are few better quarterback to learn behind than Ben Roethlisberger.

As a matter of fact, the two quarterbacks are even similar in terms of their style. Both are tall, statuesque figures with strong arms that are most comfortable moving around the pocket rather than standing still. 

The biggest question, though, is about where Pryor fits on a roster short term. He certainly isn't ready to be a quarterback in the league right now. There were some that even questioned his prowess as a college passer at Ohio State.

There are those that think his more immediate future involves being a wide receiver or a tight end, but I'm not sold on his ability to slide over to a completely different position that involves route running and blocking, two things he has never been asked to do before.

The time it would take him to grasp the more nuanced parts of those positions would be time better spent honing his skills as a quarterback. Let's face it. If a team is going to use a high draft pick in the supplemental draft on Pryor, it is because they are bullish on his ability to become a successful quarterback, not because they like his potential as a third wide receiver or pass-catching tight end.

Rich Walsh tweeted again, this time with an answer to the question of where you slot Pryor in the short-term. The answer, it seems, was hidden in plain sight:

"Terrelle Pryor would be perfect slash role for Steelers. The guy just ran a sub 4.4 40 yesterday"

Terrelle Pryor is a perfect "Slash" player for the Steelers. Fans of the team and football fans in general will remember all the highlight reel plays create by previous "Slash" players Kordell Stewart, Antwan Randle-El and, to some extent, Hines Ward.

Like Pryor, all three played quarterback in college, but had huge questions surrounding their ability to play the position at the next level.

The success rate of "Slash" players in Pittsburgh is extremely high. Stewart had success in Pittsburgh that he wasn't able to duplicate in is other stops in the NFL. Randle-El has carved out a nice career almost exclusively as a hybrid player and all Hines Ward has done is develop into one of the better wide receivers in the league as he was slowly weaned out of the "Slash" role.

If the Steelers like the chances that Pryor can develop into a decent quarterback, but also want to get something out of him in the short term, this is the perfect compromise.

The Steelers can teach him the basics of the receiver position without having to go into too much depth. He'll also get a reasonable number of snaps lined up at quarterback to get him more comfortable there.

Best of all, he'll have a tutor already in place in Hines Ward. With him, he'll be able to commiserate about the struggles of being a scrambling quarterback breaking into the NFL, and Ward will be able to pass along lessons about becoming a solid wide receiver if that ends up being Pryor's ultimate fate.

There might be teams that can offer Pryor a better opportunity to play quarterback right away, but there won't be a team that can offer Pryor a better all around football education than the Pittsburgh Steelers.