Pryor Convictions

Terrelle Pryor quickly checked reporters when they labeled him as a developing wide receiver during OTA’s. Those times have come and gone.

In fantasy circles, Terrelle Pryor is considered a hot commodity, and rightfully so. Aside from surpassing 1,000-yards as a receiver last season with a hodgepodge of quarterbacks in Cleveland, Pryor upped the ante during the offseason by working out with elite wide receiver Antonio Brown and the legendary Randy Moss. It’s very hard to think of any better practice companions than that.

Above all, Pryor is an interesting fantasy draft specimen and should not be casually passed over in the early rounds. For starters, Pryor was a former quarterback, which means he not only understands his counterpart better than anyone else on the field, but he also becomes a dual threat for wildcat plays. Pryor could very well throw for a handful of touchdowns.

Putting aside Pryor’s previous QB convictions, he’s a pretty darn good receiver and one of the few professional athletes that’s made a successful key position change. To be perfectly honest (can I keep it real?), Terrelle Pryor is nothing short of an elite wide receiver now — yes, elite! His move from quarterback to top wide receiver is akin to a MLB pitcher switching to shortstop and also becoming a slugger.

Let’s be honest — Kirk Cousins is a good quarterback, but nothing more than that. Pryor’s ability to grab jump balls and get under misguided ones will certainly raise Cousins’ profile and also give Pryor the best quarterback of his young receiving career to date. This combination alone should give fantasy owners confidence in considering Pryor as a high draft pick. He’s now the top target on Washington’s roster.

Call me crazy, but I’ll be targeting Pryor early and often in all of my drafts. I like Pryor better than Julio Jones (due to his injury history). Given the fact that Brandon Marshall just arrived in New York and will be stealing targets for the Giants, I’ll also consider Pryor in a later round instead of Odell Beckham Jr. (or Julio Jones) early on.

Antonio Brown and Mike Evans are probably the only guys I have eyes for ahead of Pryor. That said, Pryor could easily surpass 1,300 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.