The Raiders had practice on Tuesday without their newest prized possession, Terrelle Pryor, whom they chose with the 18th pick in the third round of the supplemental draft. Hue Jackson said he expects to see Pryor soon, but as of yet he is unsigned and therefore not in camp. Hue also stated that he would tailor the Raider offense to fit Pryor’s strengths.
“Whatever it is that he does well, we will accentuate that,” said Hue Jackson on Tuesday. “There’s not an offensive player that I won’t do that for because that’s about creating the environment so your players can have an opportunity to have success.”
On Monday, after the Raiders chose Pryor in the draft, Jackson said that the Raiders would see if Pryor could play quarterback before they tried him at any other position. But there is no doubt that the former Ohio State quarterback has the speed (4.38 40) and athleticism to play several positions on the field.
If he is to play quarterback, that would mean if/when he gets on the field, could we see some more option plays or perhaps, dare I say, some wildcat formations?
When the Dolphins were heavy into the Wildcat, they drafted Pat White to fill that role. Then, of course, there is the example of the Kordell Stewart “Slash” days in Pittsburgh. Michael Vick is the most recent example of a successful example of a running quarterback. The main discrepancy there is Vick also has a tremendous arm. In college and at his Pro Day, Pryor graded the lowest in his quarterback skills such as accuracy and velocity, but he was at an elite level in just about every other category.
“You don’t know what we’re really going to do with him yet,” said Jason Campbell. “He’s definitely a big, fast guy. There are different things you can do with him.”
Jackson talked about how he added plays to the playbook last season to accentuate Darren McFadden’s skills and that turned out pretty well with McFadden gaining over 1000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving — the first such performance since Marcus Allen did it 25 years ago.
Though I don’t think Pryor can ever be a full time starter at quarterback in the NFL, if Jackson can tap into what Pryor does best the way he did with McFadden, then the Raiders could have a nice new weapon.
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