Is Terrelle Pryor Worth a Bid if He’s in the Supplemental Draft?

The Steelers it seems for the past near two decades have always had a player or two on the roster that could make things happen in a number of different ways – not just one.

Kordell Stewart was drafted by the Steelers back in the 2nd round of the 1995 draft, and became an overnight sensation when the Steelers were banged up in the receiver department, and Bill Cowher let him catch passes on the scout team.

It took just a few weeks, and “Slash” was born, a player that could run, throw and catch (he even punted once in a playoff win over Buffalo). He did finally capture the starting QB job in 1997, but before that, was one of the most versatile players the league had ever seen.

Rod Woodson in the 1993 season played a few snaps on offense, but the Hall of Fame CB and safety was more apt to making big hits in the secondary than taking a reverse like he did on a Monday night against the Falcons in 93 and running for a few yards.

Then there’s current Steeler Antwaan Randle El, who also was a 2nd round pick back in 2002. He played QB in college, but the Steelers took him as a WR, and in two stints with the team has been a guy that can also run, throw and catch. As a matter a fact, he has a career passer rating of 157.8, the highest of any player with more than twenty completed passes.

That leads us to talk about another interesting name that has popped up over the last 60 days or so, that being former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The former Buckeye is going to try to get in the NFL this season through the NFL supplemental draft, and there has been all kinds of talk about a team trying him out more at wide out than at QB.

So the question is a rather simple one – do the Steelers, a team that always seems to thrive on players that can play more than one position, take a chance on the former college problem child and put a bid in on him? If they do, what kind of bid do they put in?

The way the supplemental draft works is you can place a bid on a player, and if no one else places that high of a bid, you get the player, but give up that round draft pick in next years NFL Draft.

In other words, if the Steelers put in say a 5th round bid on Pryor, and they land him, they lose that round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. So it really comes down to what a team like the Steelers think a player like Pryor would be worth.

Word is Pryor is going to be a better WR or TE than a QB in the NFL. There’s plenty of talk that Pryor simply isn’t going to have what it takes to be a QB in the league. Here’s a scouting report from Sporting News on Pryor in terms of his weaknesses.

Pryor is a raw quarterback who needs to greatly improve his accuracy if he is ever going to become a quality starting QB in the NFL. Of the 40 quarterbacks I have charted over the past four years, Pryor’s accuracy ranked 36th out of 40. He needs to stride into and follow through on his passes more consistently in order to improve his accuracy. He obviously needs to work on his mechanics, but if he can improve his accuracy, then the odd look of his release would not be as big of an issue. With the baggage he is bringing from Ohio State, Pryor faces a big job to prove he has the leadership skills and intangibles to lead NFL players.

There’s been chatter that Miami, Oakland and Washington are three teams that could put a bid in on Pryor. If he can come in, make some catches as a WR or TE, and could maybe make some throws now and then, is it worth it for the Steelers to throw a bid in?

To me, throw in a 5th round bid on him, and play the cards to see what happens. With the luck that the team has had with these types of players in the past, it could end up being a good deal for the Steelers.