FanPost

Was Pryor Rex's Pick - Are Pryor and Allen Redundant?




There has been much made about whether Pryor was Rex's pick, or if he was Idzik's (with a little help from Rod Graves perhaps). One thing for sure if that if it wasn't Rex's pick, that is pretty significant, because Rex runs the defense, and his defensive coordinator WAS the DB coach.

What is most interesting is perhaps how Pryor is thought to be an in-the-box safety, ideally, but that Rex already has a safety that is very in-the-box already. In fact Allen lined up more in the box on run downs than any other Rex Ryan Jet safety:

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And was the 9th most frequent in-the-box safety in the league.

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This was my thought elsewhere in the comment threads:

Are we sure that Rex wanted this pick? I’m not completely following the logic. Pryor’s a projected to be a SS-type (big hitter, in the box guy) who doesn’t have man coverage skills, but has good ball skills. We already had/have Allen who was a SS (in the box guy) who DOES have coverage skills (some), but can’t handle zone coverage. So this is what I’m not following – not saying there isn’t a plan though. Is the idea to put Pryor at SS and sit Allen, and have Dawan Landry at FS? Who is going to cover the TE? This was Allen’s main responsibility. This would seem to be moving a personnel asset (Allen) to the sideline. Allen wasn’t great, but he wasn’t a hole in the defense really (other than his inability to play in a zone). Or is the plan to have Pryor at FS (with some lack of speed) and lose some of his in-the-box advantage? Or Landry at SS? There is something here that strikes me oddly, given that there are other more pronounced holes on the team.

Not saying it can’t/won’t work, but it isn’t an open and shut case either.

Here is an interesting pre-draft read from a Rex Ryan protege on how Pryor fits within a Rex Ryan scheme, but seemingly at SS, the position that Allen already plays:

NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah is fan of the way Pryor, who had 75 tackles, five pass breakups and three interceptions as a junior in 2013, affected games in a similar way last season.

"Ha Ha Clinton-Dix may be a little more range over the top, but I just love Pryor," Jeremiah said. "I love the physical way he plays the game, and I thought he was plenty capable of making plays at the high safety, as well. He’s got seven career interceptions, gets his hands on footballs, but I just like his ability to come down, force the run. He’s like playing with an extra linebacker."

Jeremiah said physical players like Pryor provide an element to a defense that’s tough to find.

"I remember working with Rex Ryan in Baltimore. He used to always say that the one thing that changes a complexion more than anything else in a game was not a turnover, it was a big hit," Jeremiah said. "A big hit got your teammates going, got the crowd into the game, and there’s value in that, and that’s what Pryor gives you."

For a team like the Chiefs, who were tortured with a seemingly-unending number of crossing and rub routes last season, a box enforcer like Pryor would be welcome, though he insists he’s more than just a hitter.

"My first two years at Louisville, I played mostly in the middle of the field," Pryor said. "But after becoming a playmaker, causing fumbles, getting interceptions, coaches started moving me around having the ability to play all over the place."

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