The Oakland Raiders are known for making bold, maverick moves, and they just made another, using a third-round pick to select former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor in Monday’s NFL Supplemental Draft.
The Raiders had to take Pryor with the 18th selection in Round 3, because with no pick available to them in Round 4, they would have risked losing him to another team in Round 5. The Pryor pick means Al Davis’ team will forfeit a corresponding third-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft in April.
It’s a good chance for the Raiders to take, given their history of coveting players with great size and speed numbers. Measuring 6-5, 232 pounds at his workout for NFL teams in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Pryor recorded an official 40-yard dash time of 4.38 seconds.
It takes more than an impressive physical frame to play quarterback, as the Raiders have learned recently the hard way with arguably the biggest bust in NFL history, 2007 first overall pick JaMarcus Russell. There are, however, two big differences between Russell and Pryor, two both highly successful college quarterbacks.
First, Pryor comes with much smaller risk as a third-round supplemental pick and a much lower price tag to match. ESPN reports Pryor is looking at a four-year deal worth a little more than $2 million overall.