In Sunday morning’s edition of the Oakland Tribune, Jerry McDonald makes a compelling case for former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor to join the Silver and Black.
The Raiders were known to be exceptionally high on one athletic quarterback in April’s draft, and Pryor is expected to be available for the supplemental version. McDonald calls it “a slam dunk” that Raiders owner Al Davis should take a flier on Pryor if he’s available in the third round or later.
McDonald believes that Pryor resembles No. 1 overall pick Cam Newton “in a lot of ways,” from athleticism to stature to “comparable arm strength.” (NFL Films guru Greg Cosell would disagree.) As a three-year college starter, Pryor also has much more experience than Newton entering the pros.
Whether or not you agree with McDonald’s Pryor-Newton comparison, the Pryor-Raiders connection makes plenty of sense. Pryor has the measurables that Davis covets, and the Raiders’ pre-draft infatuation with Colin Kaepernick confirms that they are indeed seeking a developmental quarterback. 49ers G.M. Trent Baalke was “convinced” that the Raiders were trying to trade up in the draft for Kaepernick.
It’s worth noting that the Raiders already traded away their 2012 second- and fourth-round picks. Since supplemental selections cost a team the corresponding pick in next year’s draft, the Raiders would not be eligible to draft Pryor in either of those rounds.
But they could take him in the third or fifth.