Oakland Raiders: A Few Keys To A Week Three Win In Washington
By Kevin Saito
Match Speed With Speed
Terrelle Pryor didn’t exactly work out as Oakland’s quarterback all those years ago. But that doesn’t mean he’s not an excellent athlete. In fact, most seem to agree with the idea that Pryor is an elite-level athlete who should be taken seriously – just, not as a quarterback.
Pryor though, has certainly asserted himself as a wide receiver who should be taken seriously. He’s fast, elusive, and is developing a great set of hands. Pryor is turning into a tremendous talent at the wideout spot and one the Raiders can’t afford to ignore.
Or let burn them all day long.
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Which means, they’re going to need to think long and hard before putting Sean Smith and/or David Amerson on Pryor. Neither of them is an ideal matchup on the six-foot-six, 240 pound receiver. While both ordinarily do a good job on receivers with bigger frames – like Pryor – he’s got the sort of speed and athleticism that both have struggled with.
Fortunately for Oakland, they have a corner capable of keeping up with Pryor in rookie first-round pick Gareon Conley.
Though he wasn’t tested often by Josh McCown and the Jets last week, when he did see a ball come his way, he looked every bit the lockdown-type corner Oakland expected him to be when they made him the twenty-fourth overall selection.
It’s a small sample size, of course. Very small. But he performed well when he was tested, which is what you want from your rookie corner. The six-foot, 185 pound Conley is giving up plenty of size, but he’s shown the speed and athleticism needed to cover a receiver like Pryor that can nullify the advantage.
Pryor is a threat and one Oakland will need to take seriously. It seems like a no-brainer to match speed and athleticism with speed and athleticism. Conley should shadow Pryor as often as possible.