Raiders Take Pryor in Supplemental Draft

For as long as Al Davis has been the Oakland Raiders’ owner and all-powerful personnel executive, he has coveted speed in his players, sometimes to the exclusion of other skills, and occasionally in the absence of common sense. That is why as soon as the former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was reported to have run the 40-yard dash in under 4.4 seconds at a workout Saturday, it was assumed that the Raiders would make a bid to select Pryor — whose passes are not as accurate as his feet are fleet — in the N.F.L. supplemental draft. For a team that in 2009 reached for an extremely fast receiver, Darrius Heyward-Bey, who has struggled to catch the ball, Pryor seemed a logical consideration.

On Monday the Raiders lived up to their reputation, taking Pryor with the 18th selection in the third round of the supplemental draft, almost certainly higher than Pryor would have gone if he had been in the regular draft. Although the Raiders do not have a franchise quarterback on the roster — Jason Campbell is the current starter — the selection is still a risk for the Raiders.

Pryor will begin his N.F.L. career serving a five-game suspension imposed by the league because of transgressions he is alleged to have committed at Ohio State. Some N.F.L. observers, unimpressed by Pryor’s passing ability despite considerable arm strength, believe he will ultimately be forced to play a different position, perhaps tight end, where his size and speed would be better used. At the least, Pryor is expected to take at least a year, and probably longer, to develop as a quarterback, if he can do it. And in sacrificing their third-round pick, the Raiders now have no second-, third- or fourth-round picks in the 2012 draft.

For Pryor, the Raiders are a good landing spot. Hue Jackson, the new Raiders coach, is a noted tutor of quarterbacks. There will be little pressure on Pryor to play immediately, and because of the dearth of quarterbacks on the roster, he will be given every opportunity to play his preferred position.