Cleveland Browns: Terrelle Pryor's Transformation

The emergence of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor is one of the best stories in the NFL. His transformation is what has enabled it to happen.

Going into the 2016 season, Terrelle Pryor was thought of as more of a potential bonus—an ancillary player with Corey Coleman picked in the first round, Gary Barnidge coming off a huge year and Josh Gordon, at least theoretically, being an impact player again. When Cleveland Browns training camp opened, Pryor was not a lock to make the final roster. Almost a month into the season, Pryor has been their most dangerous pass-catcher. And at this point, he’s actually being held back by quarterback play. His transformation from quarterback to wide receiver has been nothing short of remarkable and he deserves a ton of credit for it.

When Pryor was signed by the Browns and agreed to change to a wide receiver, he worked extremely hard to train for the switch. As it turned out, he worked too hard. He pushed himself to the point that his body broke down during training camp. Pryor dealt with hamstring issues that held him out for a number of practices and basically the entire preseason.

Beyond the ailments he dealt with, there were physical limitations with Pryor that made the transition to receiver difficult. Coming out of Ohio State in the 2011 Supplemental Draft, checked in at 6-4.5, 232 pounds at his Pro Day. There, he posted times of 4.38 and 4.41 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Pryor is all of that as a wide receiver.

The problem for Pryor was agility. His short area quickness was pretty mediocre. Combining that with the long strides that allow him to almost glide across the field in a straight line were fine for quarterback, but had to be tweaked in order to play receiver.

Whether it was getting off the line of scrimmage against press or trying to make precise cuts in his route running, his feet were simply too slow. The only routes he could execute well involved getting a clean release and being able to use his speed.

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Both because of the hamstring issues that really limited how much he was able to practice and where he was in his development as a receiver, Pryor was released. If he had any eligibility left, he would’ve been put on the practice squad and the changes to the rules for the practice squad established this year would’ve allowed him to do just that.

Some critics will use Pryor’s success now as a reason to criticize the previous regime for releasing him. But Pryor was so raw at a wide receiver that no one signed him during the year. Subsequently, the Browns were able to bring him back without any issue.

While being a little smarter with his body in his training for wide receiver during the offseason, he improved his foot quickness, his ability to run routes, and most notably his ability to track and attack the ball when it was in the air. Pryor has also been able to stay on the field and get critical practice reps, which have paid off in a big way, especially in light of Coleman’s broken hand and Gordon’s suspension.

In the first three games of the season, Pryor is leading the team in receptions with 14. He also leads Cleveland in receiving yards with 244, the most explosive plays (plays over 20 yards) with four, and 11 first downs. Pryor is also the most targeted receiver on the team (31). What will enable him and the Browns to become more dangerous is increasing that conversion rate.

Sep 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor (11) makes a catch over Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Nolan Carroll (22) in the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports /

A major reason for Pryor’s transformation is his maturity. His creative hairstyle aside, Pryor is becoming the person everyone wanted him to be at Ohio State.

At Ohio State, Pryor arrived in Columbus with an undeserved sense of accomplishment. He didn’t work as hard as he could have, and felt he was above the rules. Pryor was a celebrity coming out of Jeannette High School out of Pennsylvania. He had no sense of reality because no one ever said “no” to him or told him he was wrong. Thus, he was unable to maximize his immense talent as a result.

A few years later, Pryor left Ohio State almost in shame after being suspended for receiving improper benefits centered around tattoos. The ban prevented Pryor to be able to set foot on Ohio State’s campus for five years. Pryor’s career was underwhelming relative to his talent and potential. He was supposed to lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship and, even though they won a lot of games and multiple Big Ten Titles, they never came close to achieving what was envisioned when he signed his letter of intent, fairly or not.

Now, at 27 years old, Pryor is becoming everything he wasn’t at OSU. Perhaps because he’s received some heavy doses of reality from the NFL, Pryor has become a legitimate wide receiver in a little over a year because of a newfound relentless work ethic. To put that in context, Joshua Cribbs, also a quarterback in college, never made the transition to wide receiver in his time with the Browns. He simply couldn’t do it.

Along with his work ethic, Pryor carries himself differently than he has in the past. In many ways, Pryor has become the quarterback presence he’s never been in his career when he was playing the position. Even though he’s a wide receiver, Pryor talks in terms of what he needs to do better and how he feels he’s let the team down. Vocally, he’ll admonish himself, saying he isn’t doing enough for them to win. Pryor is also effusive with praise to both his teammates and coaching staff.

Here’s his press conference from this past Sunday.

That’s everything that would be expected from the team’s quarterback. And especially in a situation where the Browns are forced to play third round rookie Cody Kessler out of necessity, it’s invaluable to have Pryor step up like this, taking some of the pressure off Kessler in this respect.

Pryor can still keep getting better. There are some opportunities he hasn’t capitalized on yet. One that would add another dimension to his game is yards after the catch. To this point, Pryor has just 12. Some of this is due to largely being utilized on fades and comebacks.

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Nevertheless, a good example of a missed opportunity was a play against the Philadelphia Eagles. Then quarterback Robert Griffin III had Pryor on a slant over the middle. Despite a good pass, Pryor bobbled the ball before ultimately catching it, but went down immediately. Had he caught it cleanly, Pryor had an alley where probably would have scored.

He’s also enormous in sheer physical size and that should translate in to good blocking for the running game. At this point, he’s inconsistent, particularly when it comes to timing in the Browns’ screen game, which has resulted in a few penalties. This is another area where Pryor could become a major asset for this team and could be like having a tight end lined up out wide on most every play.

Pryor’s also not running a full route tree at this point. Since Coleman is out, Pryor’s role is being expanded in a hurry. Therefore, he may start to get more opportunities for yards after the catch. The flip side of this is he’s also drawing more attention from opponents.

"That's something we have to be aware of. Where's No. 11 at?" - Washington HC Jay Gruden on Terrelle Pryor
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) September 28, 2016

A team that can use all of the feel-good stories it can get, Pryor might well be the best the Browns have had since Cribbs. Both have literally said they’d die on the field for this team to win a game if it was required. Both came in facing difficult odds to make the roster and significantly outperformed expectations. And both have shown the ability to ignite the Browns fanbase with their ability to make plays—even though Pryor’s next touchdown will be his first in the regular season.

Currently 13th in the league in receiving yards, Pryor is going to be a big part of the offense, at least until Gordon comes back. And even then, there’s little reason not to utilize him as often as possible. If Pryor can maintain this level of production or even close to it, he will be able to demand a big payday this upcoming off season as he’s a free agent. For now, watching Pryor not only produce, but play his heart out for the Browns is one of the best reasons to watch this team this season.

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Cleveland Browns: Terrelle Pryor’s Transformation

By Peter Smith | Sep 29, 2016

The emergence of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor is one of the best stories in the NFL. His transformation is what has enabled it to happen.

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