Would Taking Terrelle Pryor in the Supplemental Draft Make Sense?

Tim Graham of ESPN has an idea. It involves a team taking Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor if he enters the Supplemental Draft in the wake of head coach Jim Tressel's firing and his own six game suspension with the idea of turning him into another Brad Smith.

As a couple readers mentioned, maybe Pryor could evolve into the type of player Brad Smith was for the New York Jets, a versatile player who can take snaps out of a pistol formation, return kicks or line up at receiver.

I only mention this because some might draw a conclusion the team that might be losing Smith would have interest in picking up a guy with a similar college resume.

I can pretty safely say the Jets should not be that team. The only way it makes sense is if you subscribe to a theory that since the team might lose an athletic wide receiver who played quarterback in college, it should find another athletic quarterback to replace him.

Gang Green took Jeremy Kerley in the Draft. It is worth giving him a chance to fill that role. Unlike Pryor, he has experience as a return man and splitting wide, which is a leg up. As good as Smith was, he offered next to nothing as a receiver. Unlike Pryor, Kerley is not starting from square one. He knows the position. Having a guy play Smith's role who can keep a defense honest as a pass catcher puts extra strain on the defense. Kerley also has experience as a Wildcat quarterback.

There is no guarantee Pryor would even be as good as Smith. As Graham notes, Pat White had similar attributes but was very ineffective in a Wildcat role for the Dolphins in 2009.