Terelle Pryor Best Fit is Buffalo?

If we are to believe the tandem of Chan Gailey and Buddy Nix are long term fixtures in Buffalo, then a very intriguing predicament will soon be facing them, and that is whether or not to draft Ohio State QB, Terrelle Pryor.    I know your first reaction is to say I’m crazy, as the frugal owner Ralph Wilson would never allow a team to invest money in a player like Pryor, but hear me out.   If the selection only cost the Bills a day three pick (say in the 4^th round) then I say do it and here are the reasons why:


Mobility---Remember Chan loves quarterbacks that are mobile (one of his prized students was Kordell Stewart, whose best years were with Gailey) and he can slowly bring Pryor along behind Fitzpatrick and whatever veteran (say Brodie Croyle) they sign this off-season.

Veteran Depth----Ideally, Pryor rides the bench all of next season as a third string QB to get his feet wet in the league.  This will allow him to work with Gailey and the staff on his obvious QB flaws without having the pressure to have him immediately play.  Coming in this late not much should be expected from Pryor, so sitting behind a guy like Fitzpatrick (who showed he’s a solid quarterback better than just a game manager) and Croyle (who has a brief history with Gailey in KC) will give him time to digest a playbook and life in the NFL.

Location, location, location----Unlike the past “future franchise” QBs for the Bills, Pryor is a PA kid who grew up only four hours from Buffalo, played in the Big Ten so Buffalo weather and its climate should not be that much of an adjustment for them to gauge his abilities.    J.P Losman, Rob Johnson and Trent Edwards all seemed to freeze up when the temperature got colder than the warm weather they were used to.   Plus being a Pennsylvania kid you would think Pryor would be able to have a stronger support unit around him to help prevent future problems as the Bills experienced with say,  Marshawn Lynch who was from Oakland, CA.

 Low Risk-----It would be safe to assume by the end of year number two, Gailey and his staff would be able to determine if they had the next Randall Cunningham, Kordell Stewart or maybe better on the roster, or maybe instead someone like Matt Jones or Brad Smith, who they could use as both a receiver and a passing threat, or the next Damon Allen which would be the worst case. Should the experiment fail it only cost them a fourth round pick and after some of their misses on first round picks (Aaron Maybin, Mike Williams, and Erik Flowers) a fourth round gamble seems low risk to say the least.   Should it work the Bill could start drafting players to specifically match Pryor’s strengths and really build a team the Buffalo faithful deserve.

For the media starved Buffalo Bills, rolling the dice on a talented but raw Terrelle Pryor makes a lot of sense as he possess many of the skills their head coach likes in his quarterback.  It would also give them someone to get their fan base excited about not only this season, but the upcoming years.  Also with his hometown four hours away, it may help the Bills expand their fan base a little south which certainly wouldn’t hurt.   Do you think a #2 Bills Jersey might become a bigger seller in the Buffalo area? I do.  Pryor has a ton of potential but needs a coach who knows how to develop it.  Should the experiment fail, it only cost them a 4^th round pick, and after some of their misses on 1^st round picks, a fourth round gamble seems low risk to say the least.   Should it work the Bills could start drafting players to specifically match Pryor’s strengths.   Gailey has the track record to show he can develop guys like Pryor but the real question is how long will that Head Coach be given in Buffalo?  Hopefully he’s given the chance and the opportunity to develop a raw but talented player like Pryor.