Cleveland Browns: Terrelle Pryor, not Robert Griffin III, Could be Team’s Most Important Comeback Story

The Cleveland Browns could win big by gambling on Robert Griffin III. However, he isn’t the only former college star capable of brightening the team’s future.

The Cleveland Browns have every reason to be gambling this year. This is an organization that won just three games in 2015, hasn’t had a winning season since 2007 and is about as devoid of talent as a professional team can conceivably be. It makes perfect sense for the Browns to take a chance on a former collegiate star with a promising, but unpolished skill set.

Actually, Cleveland is gambling on a couple such players this year. The first and most obvious—at least in the national spotlight—is former Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.

The second guy hoping to revive his NFL career with the Browns is wide receiver Terrelle Pryor—and he may be the one to end up as a permanent piece of Cleveland’s future.

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Griffin is a former Heisman-winning quarterback and a former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He has a strong arm, deep-ball accuracy and athleticism to spare. The questions surrounding Griffin, though, have never revolved around his physical skills. The questions have been about his ability to run a pro-style offense, process an NFL game in real time and make winning decisions.

These questions still remain with Griffin, only now he is forced to answer them with an organization that isn’t exactly known as a manufacturer of quarterback success.

If Griffin can answer these questions and jump-start a second act of his career, both he and the Browns will benefit. There’s reason to believe that he can, too.

The former second-overall pick was impressive in his second preseason game on Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons. He completed six of his eight pass attempts for 96 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing three times for 36 yards.

He finished the game with a passer rating of 154.2.

Statistically, Griffin was a success against Atlanta. On a few of his plays, he also passed the eye test with flying colors. He throws one of the prettiest deep balls you’ll ever see, and he delivered two of them against the Falcons that went for scores.

Unfortunately, Griffin exhibited some of the same red flags we’ve seen from him in the past. He is inconsistent as a passer and only seems to flash top timing with the deep ball. His other four completions totaled a mere 17 yards. Footwork still seems to be an issue for Griffin, and while he is making an effort to slide at the end of runs, he still seems oblivious to the connection between taking hits and being injured.

Robert Griffin III has already experienced his share of ups and downs with the Browns. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Griffin has already taken a number of hard hits this preseason. If he keeps doing so, there’s virtually no way he lasts an entire season.

While I fully believe Griffin can develop into a quality NFL quarterback, I’m less convinced that he’ll remain fully healthy with the Browns or that he’ll stick around as a potential franchise signal-caller.

I think it would be extremely difficult for Cleveland to pass on an elite 2017 prospect such as Clemson’s Deshaun Watson—if they have the chance to draft him—simply because Griffin is getting back to where he was as a rookie.

Pryor, on the other hand, is a guy I could see sticking around for the foreseeable future.

“It’s been an amazing transition for him, I think everybody’s excited for TP. I’m a quarterback, he’s a quarterback … so it’s just been really cool to see the transformation.” – Robert Griffin III

There are plenty of similarities between Pryor and Griffin. Both were star college quarterbacks who received early opportunities to play under center in the NFL. Pryor, though, decided last offseason to make the position switch to wide receiver in order to earn his second big chance at starting in the NFL.

The early results were mixed. At 6’4″ and 223 pounds, Pryor possessed a remarkable size-speed combination. However, he isn’t a natural receiver and the transition to wideout was up and down. A hamstring issue erased most of his 2015 preseason. While Pryor did make Cleveland’s final 53-man roster, he was quickly released.

The former Buckeye did find his way back to the Browns late in the 2015 season, though, and his first NFL reception went for 42 yards. That long reception may well have been a preview of things to come.

Pryor has nabbed three catches so far this preseason. Those three receptions have covered 107 yards and have produced one touchdown. According to Pro Football Focus, Pryor has done his damage on just 38 offensive snaps. At the time Thursday’s preseason games were over, Pro Football Focus graded Pryor tenth overall among all NFL wide receivers.

It’s important to note, though, that Pryor’s big plays this preseason and late last year are not simply the result of him being bigger and faster than the competition—though these traits certainly help.

Pryor has spent this entire offseason working incredibly hard at his new craft as a receiver. He has spent his private time working with guys like Josh McCown and legendary NFL receiver Randy Moss in order to improve, and he has done his part to force the Cleveland coaching staff to take notice.

#Browns QB Josh McCown worked out w/teammate Terrelle Pryor during summer break as Randy Moss tutored Pryor. McCown impressed w/Pryor at WR.
— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) July 29, 2016

“He’s done a tremendous job,” Browns head coach Hue Jackson said of Pryor, per AP sportswriter Mitch Stacy. “There’s a lot of guys I can say that about, but he’s taken this opportunity and is trying to make the most of it. He’s worked extremely hard.”

The converted quarterback is listed on Cleveland’s preseason depth chart as a starting wideout.

Pryor is using his starting opportunity to show teammates and Browns decision-makers that he can be a game-changing receiver.

“TP’s been making plays all camp, really all off-season,” Griffin said after Thursday’s game, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “It’s been an amazing transition for him, I think everybody’s excited for TP. I’m a quarterback, he’s a quarterback … so it’s just been really cool to see the transformation. And you can see the vibe on the sideline whenever TP makes a play. Everybody’s excited for him because they know how hard of a transition it’s been for him.”

If Pryor can continue to make big plays, the Browns are going to want to keep him around.

Ask any longtime Browns fan (as if anyone is jumping on the bandwagon now) about how starved the team has been for offensive playmakers since returning in 1999. The Browns have passed over a plethora of perennial Pro Bowlers (the Browns may never live down the fact they passed on Ben Roethlisberger) in order to draft guys like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow Jr., but the list of true game-changing offensive players in expansion-era Browns history is a short one.

This may be part of the reason why Cleveland has been so patient with Josh Gordon and his off-field issues over the past couple of years. Even if Gordon gets back to where he was pre-suspension and first-round pick Corey Coleman proves to be the real deal, it’s difficult to see the Browns letting go of Pryor if he can be a legitimate difference-maker.

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Pryor is only 27 years old and is likely entering his physical prime. If he can continue to add polish as a receiver, he’ll have nowhere to go but up. It could all make for a comeback story that rivals any Griffin might be a part of—and it’s potentially the type of feel-good story in which the modern Browns have rarely played a part.