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Quarterbacks

1. Marcus Mariota
2. Jameis Winston
3. Garret Grayson
4. Brett Hundley
5. Connor Halliday
6. Bryce Petty
7. Nick Marshall
8. Cody Fajardo
9. Blake Sims
10. Shane Carden

Running Backs

1. Todd Gurley
2. Jay Ajayi
3. Duke Johnson
4. Melvin Gordon
5. David Johnson
6. Jeremy Langford
7. Ameer Abdullah
8. Tevin Coleman
9. Javorius Allen
10. Zach Zenner
11. TJ Yeldon
12. Mike Davis
13. David Cobb
14. Karlos Williams
15. Malcolm Brown
16. Trey Williams
17. Thomas Rawls
18. Tyler Varga
19. John Crockett
20. Terrell Watson
21. Malcolm Agnew
22. Jahwan Edwards
23. BJ Catalon
24. Akeem Hunt
25. Mike Dyer
26. Marcus Murphy
27. Terris Jones-Grigsby
28. Dee Hart
29. Matt Jones
30. Joey Iosefa

Wide Receivers

1. Amari Cooper
2. Dorial Green-Beckham
3. Kevin White
4. Jaelen Strong
5. Devante Parker
6. Devante Davis
7. Breshad Perriman
8. Nelson Agholor
9.Chris Conley
10. Phillip Dorsett
11. Tre McBride
12. Devin Funchess
13. Tyler Lockett
14. Stefon Diggs
15. Darren Waller
16. Tony Lippet
17. Deandre Smelter
18. Devin Smith
19. Justin Hardy
20. Titus Davis
21. Vince Mayle
22. Rashad Greene
23. Jamison Crowder
24. Ty Montgomery
25. Kenny Bell
26. Jake Kumerow
27. Deontay Greenberry
28. Antwan Goodley
29. JJ (Jarmarcus) Nelson
30. Kasen Williams
31. Tella Luckett
32. Kaelin Clay
33. Da’Ron Brown
34. Matt Miller
35. Ezell Ruffin
36. Josh Harper
37. Bud Sasser
38. Dres Anderson
39. Davaris Daniels

Tight Ends

1. Clive Walford
2. Maxx Williams
3. Nick O’Leary
4. Jesse James
5. Mycole Pruitt
6. Tyler Kroft
7. CJ Uzomah
8. Wes Saxton
9. Gerald Christian
10. Jeff Heurman

I present to you my week four fantasy football rankings. The bye weeks and injuries are starting to hit! I hope you all drafted a deep team. As always, feel free to contact me on twitter, @davismattek.

Draft season is almost done and Coleman & Davis are joined by Rich Hribar of XN Sports to discuss their perfect draft. They go round by round for 10 rounds and then discuss the perfect late-round fliers to complement the roster they have constructed.

Davis’ Works

• Steve Smith: Slot Machine July 28, 2013
• C.J Spiller is… Undervalued? July 27, 2013
• Wisconsin Running Backs, Montee Ball, and NFL Production July 27, 2013
• Eric Decker, Wes Welker and the Importance of Touchdowns July 25, 2013
• Vincent Brown, Jerry Rice and The Mythical 4.71 40 July 23, 2013
• Are We Maybe Overlooking Ladarius Green…in Redraft? July 18, 2013
• Is Nick Toon The Heir To Marques Colston’s WR1 Throne? July 16, 2013
• Chris Thompson: Sleeper Update July 13, 2013
• The Four Noble Truths Of Fantasy Football June 24, 2013
• Justin Forsett May Be the Only Man Standing in the Jags Backfield June 15, 2013
• What Will Pep Hamilton’s 2013 Indianapolis Offense Look Like? June 11, 2013
• A Brief Argument For Mario Manningham June 11, 2013
• Is Arian Foster Injury Prone? June 6, 2013
• Are Darren McFadden And Rashad Jennings Injury Prone? May 31, 2013
• An Exhaustive Look at Larry Fitzgerald’s Prospects in 2013 May 26, 2013
• Josh Gordon Is The Prettiest Girl At The Bar May 20, 2013
• Target Acquired: Latavius Murray May 8, 2013
• Faulty Comps: Percy Harvin & Denard Robinson May 6, 2013
• The 2013 Rotoviz Composite Rookie TE Rankings April 24, 2013
• Does DHB Damage T.Y. Hilton’s Fantasy Value? April 3, 2013
• Deep Sleepers: Five Wide Receivers You Need To Know April 1, 2013
• Fishing in Deep Waters: Five Backup RB Names to Know March 25, 2013
• Is Bernard Pierce the 2013 Handcuff to Draft? March 19, 2013
• Should You Be Buying or Selling Jacquizz Rodgers in Dynasty Formats? March 14, 2013
• What Do We Know About Packers Running Back DuJuan Harris? March 6, 2013

Coleman On Rotoviz

• Montee Ball, Knowshon Moreno and the Broncos’ Backfield July 2, 2013
• The Myth of Marcus Lattimore June 24, 2013
• Cam Newton, Pocket Passer? June 21, 2013
• Underrated Asset: Heath Miller June 18, 2013
• Deep Sleeper: Michael Hill June 10, 2013
• How Good Has Ryan Tannehill Been as a Quarterback? May 30, 2013
• The Mass Exodus from the Ryan Mathews Hype Train Means He’s Finally a Bargain May 28, 2013

A couple of thoughts about my Top 40 before you dive in:

• With the recent comments by Todd Haley saying that Le’Veon Bell is “…not a guy that you’d shy away from giving it to him 30 times a game,” he’s moving into my #1 spot. This is a perfect intersection of talent and situation. To all those shouting out Bell as the next Daniel Thomas or Shonn Greene: I could not disagree more.
• I honestly don’t know what to make of the Eddie Lacy/Johnathan Franklin situation in Green Bay. So far, the idea is that Lacy is the 2 down thumper and Franklin is the 3rd down receiving/change of pace back. I don’t think Franklin really fits that receiving back mold, so I ranked him low because of the risk factor. Lacy will probably be the goal line back, but this seems like a quasi-Carolina Panthers situation brewing in Wisconsin. On one hand, Lacy could get the lion’s share of yards and touchdowns, but there is a chance his injury problems catch up with him and that Franklin runs away with the job. I just don’t know.
• Zac Stacy is the best running back on the Rams roster, and it isn’t close. I have no problems taking him in the 1^st round.
• Ranking Marcus Lattimore at 26 means I won’t own him on any of my teams. I think people taking him in the 1st round are wasting their pick; athletes “return to previous levels of function” at a rate of 20-30% according to Scott Peak. Even if he does recover and regains his talent, I don’t think he’s better than Kendall Hunter. I’m rooting for him, but it’s very unlikely you’ll see decent returns on the pick.
• In what world is Latavius Murray not a 2nd round pick? He’s a bigger Darren McFadden, standing at 6’3″, 223, with similar speed, agility, and explosion measurements. McFadden has been consistently injured since he entered the NFL, and is a free agent in 2014. You could be looking at the future starting running back for the Oakland Raiders, and the most you have to spend is a 2nd round pick! I’m making a point to grab all the young running backs who I think can start in 1-2 years, and Murray is a guy I’m adding to that list.
• I’m bullish on Quinton Patton. The 49ers don’t pass a lot, and I’m not sure he’s better than incumbent A.J. Jenkins. Boldin and Crabtree could potentially be gone by 2015, but you can let someone else draft him then buy low in a year or two.
• Christine Michael will be on all of my teams this year. He’s in a bad short term situation, similar to the one C.J. Spiller was drafted into, but the Seahawks can cut Marshawn Lynch for little penalty and save themselves some cap space. Perhaps they know something we don’t about his back or are preparing for some sort of punishment stemming from his pending DUI trial. Combine Michael’s talent with Seattle 264 rushing attempts per game and you have fantasy success.
• Aaron Mellette, the Baltimore Ravens 7th round wide receiver, is a guy I’d be snatching in the 3rd round. The Ravens have a hole opposite Torrey Smith, and I’m not sure Tandon Doss, Tommy Streeter, or Jacoby Jones are the answer. Mellette reminds of Marques Colston in a lot of ways, in playing style and draft position. He could get playing time sooner than people think.

If you any questions or comment, hit me up on twitter. I’m always open to discussing the thought process behind my ideas.

Coleman Kelly: The second major shocker of the draft so far is the Bills passing on my number 1 quarterback Geno Smith in favor of my number 2, E.J. Manuel. As I said in my Positional Rankings piece, Manuel is going to need to be manipulated and managed by Bills head coach Doug Marrone in order to succeed. The good news is that Marrone comes from the Sean Payton coaching tree, so hopefully some of Payton’s offensive creativity rubbed off on him. Manuel is clearly a developmental prospect, although he was better than Kaepernick was as a passer in college. The former FSU quarterback heads to a Bills offense with clear talent, led by wide receiver Stevie Johnson and running back C.J. Spiller. According to ProFootballFocus, the Bills had the 4th best pass blocking line in the league, which bodes well for Manuel’s development.

In college, E.J. Manuel had a pretty good yards per attempt figure, and an okay Adjusted Yards per Attempt number. His TD rate is lower than you would like, elite prospects are usually over 5%. Like I said, he’s going to have to be manipulated and managed, but if Marrone doesn’t throw him into the fire right away, I think Manuel could turn out okay. The upside is there, and in the meantime, he should rack up points on the ground. Marrone ran the read-option with Ryan Nassib at Syracuse (I’ll pause why you’re laughing…. done? okay), and he’ll do the same with Manuel in Buffalo. Throw the underrated Kevin Kolb out there for a year, and let Manuel develop before giving him the reins in year 2.

Davis Mattek: This is going to go down as one of the worst picks in entire tenure of Buddy Nix. E.J Manuel does have the physical tools to be an NFL quarterback, and with his running ability, a fantasy relevant one. However, the mental acuity that he has developed so far in his career is not going to be enough for him to be successful his first several years in the league. While Buffalo does have a decent offensive line, the rest of the offense is far behind. If Manuel becomes the starter immediately, my instant fear is that he won’t have the chance to unlearn some of the bad habits he picked up at Florida State. This is an quarterback who couldn’t beat Christian Ponder out for a starting job.

While Manuel was my #2 rookie quarterback in this class, that was more a reflection of the class than Manuel. The Buffalo Bills were also not an ideal landing spot. Rookie quarterbacks are going to struggle in general. Manuel’s struggles will amplify due to his inability to read the defense beyond his initial read and possibly his second. Running the read-option with C.J Spiller could lead to several very productive ground running games, but from a passing standpoint, Manuel isn’t going to get it done his rookie year. His number wide receiver is a very inconsistent and oft-injured Stevie Johnson. The second best receiver is T.J Graham, an untested 2nd year 4th round rookie selection. My pre-draft hope for Manuel was too be drafted by one of the few quarterback guru’s in the league who I trust. I don’t have the trust in Doug Marrone that I do in the Andy Reid’s and Sean Payton’s of the world. All of that said, Manuel’s running ability will make him worthy of being a stream-worthy quarterback in the right matchup. If we see signs of improvement in the mental aspects of the passing early on, he could even become a rosterable member of a Quarterback By Committee.

Strengths

-Great height/speed combination.

-Ball tracking ability on longer throws

-Snatches the ball out of the air on crossing routes

-Surprising agility for a taller player

Weaknesses

-Very, very inconsistent hands, especially in traffic.

-Some questions about attitude/intangibles

-Not as efficient in the redzone as you’d want someone his size to be

-Gets pushed off his route and quits fighting on longer routes

Metric Evaluation

The maddening quality of Wilson’s game reminded me of one player more than anything: James Jones. I don’t think that they have a similar playing style and certainly are not physical comps for one another. Despite that, I decided to include Jones’ numbers through the College Career Graphs with Wilson, Markus Wheaton and Justin Hunter. Hunter was included as a very similar size comp for Wilson and Wheaton is ranked by many analysts in a similar area to where Wilson is. Below is a graph representing the Market Share of Touchdowns for these wide receivers.

Wilson is clearly superior to the much higher ranked Hunter. As Coleman Kelly stated on our podcast the other day, the Hunter hype is very much unwarranted. Wilson is similarly sized and apparently more talented version at a much cheaper price. Wilson showed a progression that Wheaton was unable to represent in this arena and was in the area of Jones.

Yards Per Target

Yards per target doesn’t create quite the pretty picture that Market Share of Yards does. Hunter clearly outpaces Wilson, even though Wilson was better than Wheaton and even Jones. What this would seem to indicate is that all of the screen pass targets that Wilson got in the scheme of Washington State’s offense.

In general, the metrics paint a picture that Wilson is not as inefficient as the film would possibly suggest. I was worried that when I started digging into this numbers, this electrifying player just wouldn’t stand up to mathematical observation. Fortunately, that is not the case.

Film Observation

I legitimately got upset watching Wilson play multiple times. A brilliant screen pass would be followed by Wilson losing a ball on a deep route. He is incredibly tall, and allows him to get to balls that many other receivers simply can’t, but on deeper routes his lack of weight and strength meant that he could get pushed off of his routes. The most maddening thing that I observed was the consistency of Wilson’s hands. His catching ability would allow him to leap up and grab a touchdown out of the in between two defenders while the ball hit and his facemask, but mysteriously fail him when he had to make simply sideline catches.

What drew me to Wilson in the first place was obviously his height. Receivers that tall often have the ability to be real red zone weapons. I was surprised however to see that one of the things Wilson did the best in was the screen game. There was one play in particular against San Diego State where Wilson took a screen pass 80 yards all the way to score. On the play, he caught the ball perfectly, read 4 blocks appropriately, side stepped on the sideline like a running back and scored with ease.

This perfectly illuminates Wilson’s future. If he didn’t have that lateral agility and decision making needed to be useful in the open field, then he will just be a part time player and would just bounce around a few teams before an early retirement. However, if he learns how to use those skills at an NFL level to be efficient on screens, third down and in the red zone, he has a chance of being a really solid NFL wide receiver.

Fantasy Football Outlook

Wilson’s fantasy football future is very situationally dependent. If he does somewhere with a mediocre quarterback and offensive coordinator, he probably will never develop into the weapon he could be. However, if he is drafted by a team like the Saints that really need a multi-talented wide receiver and have the intelligence and technique to develop him, he becomes a pretty solid dynasty rookie pick that will surely come undervalued. We will know more after the draft, but until then, keep your eyes open.

I had high hopes while watching Andre Ellington of Clemson. I thought that the NFL could be looking at the next Chris Johnson or Jamaal Charles style running back; After diving into the film and digging through the numbers, that’s simply not the case.

Andre Ellington vs FSU (Courtesy of DraftBreakdown)

Ellington is on the smaller side for a running back, coming in at 5’11”, 199 pounds. I’ve said this more than a few times in a couple evaluations, but you need to have speed and/or ultra agility to be a smaller back in this league. I know Ellington doesn’t have one, but we’ll have to wait and see on the second. Ellington didn’t perform any agility drills at the combine or his personal pro day, but my biased, fallible eyes tell me he has above-average quickness.

There have been a few sub-200 pound running backs the last few years, most notably Chris Johnson (4.24 40), Jamaal Charles (4.38), C.J. Spiller (4.27), Ray Rice (4.42), Jahvid Best (4.34), and even Kendall Hunter (4.42) has flashed some ability. Get the theme here? Don’t get me wrong, Ellington is fast, he’s just not fast enough to start and perform on the level that most of the above backs have. Is Ellington even the best smaller back in this class?

*Ellington did not do any agility measurements at the combine, his Agility Score is based off the average of similar sized running backs.

From a numbers perspective, they’re all indistinguishable. The difference is that Williams and Barner will be available later than Ellington. What if we took a look at similar running backs based on measurements and college production?

Finding ideal comparables was tough, since most running backs his size/speed combo have been terrible in college, like sub-5YPC terrible. Ahmad Bradshaw appearing on this list is great for Ellington. Bradshaw has been a fairly successful real life and fantasy running back. It is worth noting that Bradshaw only has 1 season where he wasn’t splitting time with a bigger back, and even then, 2 other backs had 70+ carries. All the other players reinforce the fear I have with Ellington: that his ceiling is capped as a backup or change of pace. Have you ever been excited about starting Javon Ringer or Bernard Scott?

Andre Ellington vs LSU (Courtesy of DraftBreakdown)

I found Ellington to be a decent inside runner, although he was frequently untouched until the 2^nd level. His success in college won’t translate to the pros. He won’t consistently break tackles, but he can bounce off defenders once he gets to the open field. His outstanding balance keeps him upright while he’s ping-ponging off would-be tacklers. He doesn’t have enough strength or power to be a consistent between the tackles runner, and gets brought down by ankles easily. If he can get to the edge, he can make plays and weave through trash very well. As a smaller back, the line swallowed him on more than one occasion. He’s not going to push the pile. I’d like to see him hit an NFL weight room to improve his strength.

He showed good patience behind his blocks. On film, I saw great anticipation, leading defenders one way, then slashing through the cut-back lane. Ellington is a very shifty back with a deep repertoire of moves. He can kill you in space with his quick-twitch lateral agility. His forte will likely be perimeter runs and space plays in the NFL. He lacks the breakaway speed that makes Chris Johnson and Jamaal Charles so dangerous, I saw him get caught from behind a few times on long runs.

Clemson wasn’t afraid to target Ellington as a receiver down the field. He has soft, natural hands, and adjusts very well to poorly thrown passes. I see him being a good receiving back in the NFL. For a college running back, he showed impressive skill in pass protection. You expect smaller backs like himself to get blown up when linebackers bull rush, but Ellington held his own. He showed a willingness to take a big shot to keep the quarterback upright. There were some minor technique issues; more than once I saw Ellington lower his head too early, allowing defenders to rip by him. Once he gets some NFL coaching, he’ll be very good in this area. He doesn’t give up once his assignment is over; I liked seeing him attack defenders chasing the quarterback when the play broke down.

NFL Draft Outlook: Ellington is likely nothing more than a backup option in the NFL. He doesn’t have the strength or frame to be a consistent inside runner, nor the blinding speed like some of the successful sub-200 pound runners. He has good hands and the makings of a very good pass blocker, so he can contribute on 3^rd down, and be that electric receiving back that’s in vogue. If he ever gets a chance to start, he’ll have to be paired with a bigger back to take some of the load off him.

Fantasy Outlook: Depending on landing spot, Ellington could be overdrafted, like Isaiah Pead was last year, if he goes to a team with an older running back, like the Broncos or Falcons. I would consider taking him in the 2^nd round of your rookie draft, depending on who’s available. Christine Michael and Zac Stacy both have more upside, and should be available in the 2^nd, and maybe even later. Even if you miss out on Ellington, it’s not like there’s a dearth of undersized, speedy backs on this class. Off the top of my head, there’s Kerwynn Williams, Kenjon Barner, Treavor Scales, and Chris Thompson, all of whom you can get later than Ellington.

First Quarter:

The game started about as most expected. The Chargers defense clearly did not want to allow Pryor to shake and bake them to death and the very first play where Pryor had to make a decision, he made the wrong one on a zone option. McFadden and Pryor could be a terrorizing combo, but it never really materialized. His first throw, on a 2nd down, to Marcel Reece was a very nice read but a bad drop. Pryor did not shy away from forcing the ball in between several defenders who were on multiple levels. After a 3 and out, Pryor came back and threw a beautiful deep ball with an impressive amount of touch to Darius Heyward-Bey who beat Quentin Jammer so bad that Jammer was forced to interfere. If that hadn’t of happened, it would have been a huge gain. After a McFadden carry, Pryor had a beautiful roll out where he threw to a spot across his body and Rod Streater picked it out of the air. Pryor’s ability to throw across his body while moving was very impressive all game. On a bubble screen on the same drive, Pryor showed solid awareness by getting the throw above an oncoming rusher while still throwing a catch-able ball.

Second Quarter:

Already 3-3 for 31 yards on the ride as the team switched sides, this drive was Pryor’s most impressive ball. On a first down, Oakland ran play action but Pryor was too hesitant. This happened several times throughout the game where he had protection but didn’t find anything pleasing down field so he either checked down or ran for a small gain. The offense stalled in the red zone but on 3rd and 2, Pryor kept the play alive and smartly ran to his left for a first down. While many running quarterbacks in their first NFL starts would be tempted to take off as soon as a hole opens up, Pryor didn’t have this fault too terribly. Most of his runs were net beneficial to the offense. After a penalty, he threw a not-so-smart throw to Streater in the end zone. Those sort of throws are just a waste of a down and something that he will have to learn to avoid if he is going to become an above average NFL starter. On 2nd and 14, he show cased his running ability again and gained 9 yards after being corned and almost wrapped up in the back field. His 9 yard touchdown throw to Heyward-Bey on the next play was very interesting. He showed that he wasn’t afraid to put the ball in an area where the receiver had to make a play by throwing a back shoulder type throw with Bey matched up one on one. Bey made the solid catch and secured 6 points. It was a NFL level throw, to be certain.

The Raiders came back on the field with 2:42 left. On first and 10, Pryor lofted a ball to Denarius Moore that was a solid 5 yards out-of-bounds and far too high for anyone to catch; it was his first really bad pass of the game. On 3rd down, he targeted Moore again who had a step on his corner and Pryor simply overthrew the ball. Not an impressive series. The offense punted and then came back on with 47 seconds. Terrelle didn’t show great understanding of clock management and on 3rd and 1 got the first but slipped before he got the first down, leaving the team with 7 points at half.

Third Quarter:

The Raiders got the ball to start the half and after an unproductive McFadden run, they tried a play action from deep in their own territory. Pryor’s sheer size and strength helped him avoid a sack as he grounded a pass to Brandon Myers with Melvin Ingram draped on his waist. On 3rd and 14, Pryor moved to his left and fired a strike to Rod Streater for the first down who promptly fumbled it. This was the sort of play that left me impressed. The great thing about being a mobile quarterback is moving the defense but also, being able to see coverages better and from different angles. Pryor’s confidence in his arm and legs shown through on this play. He got hit late which negated the fumble and led to Dennis Allen calling another play action. This time, Pryor threw a bad lofter off of his back foot to Reece which was not catch-able. On 2nd and 10, Pryor audibled for the first time to a quick slant to Marcel Reece on the far left sideline. Pryor made a solid throw behind a defender but Reece couldn’t hang on. On 3rd and 10, Pryor made probably his best throw off the game. He fit it directly over the head of a linebacker and just below the oncoming safety to drop into Brandon Myers’ hands in the seam. The touch pass into the seam is an important throw to make in the NFL because it is going to be available to the athletic and tall tight ends flooding the league. It is essentially a throw that will be there a large percentage of time, but is not an easy one to make or to read.

Pryor took off on the next play and made the right choice. The smaller Oakland wide outs were having trouble winning one on one battles and Myers had fallen down. The next play was his only interception of the game and it was truly, a pretty bad pass. It was a situation where a young quarterback trusted his arm too much. There was a semi-troubling pattern in the game of Pryor putting too much touch on a pass when a ball needed to be rifled in. As Pryor targeted Heyward-Bey in the end zone, he failed to notice Quentin Jammer playing the route underneath and he put the ball in the place where Jammer had the much easier play than the wide out.

The next drive, the offense came out and promptly left after 3 plays. On 3rd and 8, Pryor targeted Rod Streater who got lit up by the oncoming safety. Pryor should have timed the pass better or looked at Denarius Moore on the opposite sideline; Streater wasn’t really open on the play.

On the 3rd drive off the quarter for the Raiders, Pryor lead off with perhaps his worst throw; not based on outcome, but on what he gave up. This is the sort of throw that he needs to be able to make to lead both his team and your fantasy football squad. It was a play action roll out and Denarius Moore was wide open and past the safety. Pryor saw this promptly placed the ball behind Moore at around knee level. Whereas most of his throws to Streater were on target, a majority of Denarius Moore’s targets where uncatchable. There was absolutely no chemistry between the 2 until the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, Pryor made another bad throw on 3rd and 4. Heyward-Bey had beaten his man and was open to the outside. Instead, Pryor placed the ball to the inside, much closer to the safety than was needed and much lower than it should have been. Bey dropped the ball, but on 4th down a roughing the punter kept the drive alive.

The next play featured a very, very rookie move where Pryor ran 20 yards back before very athletically getting rid of the ball. Had Pryor been sacked it would have been a very costly move for field position; the sort of play that young guys make that they really shouldn’t. His improvisational skills almost paid off, as the ball he threw was almost caught by Denarius Moore.

Fourth Quarter:

On the first drive of the fourth quarter, Pryor made another bad throw with too much touch to an open Heyward-Bey on the sideline. On 2nd and 12, DMC and Pryor both messed up on an odd zone read play where Pryor’s athleticism got the team 5 yards. These are the sorts of plays that will need to work better for the offense as a whole to hum underneath Pryor. Instead of the meager 5 yards, if the blocking would have been correct, it could have been for 15.

3rd and 7 showed off more chemistry between Streater and Pryor as it was a beautiful timing route where Pryor placed the ball to the inside and Streater just snagged it right out the air. He immediately followed up with another impressive throwing rolling to his right where he hooked up for a big gain with Streater again. A designed run got blown up but a penalty call makes it 3rd and 7. On 3rd and 7, Pryor made a beautiful bucket accuracy throw that rainbowed perfectly over a cornerback and Rod Streater’s shoulders, right into his hands. A truly tremendous NFL throw. First and goal was a naked bootleg to the left side where Pryor turned on the jets and easily scored. Pryor is very Cam Newton-esque in his ability to become a real redzone weapon. A tall, fast guy; he will have a huge scoring impact in the redzone if he becomes the full-time starter.

The next series was not his best as he checked down to Myers, fumbled out of bounds, missed on a throw to Denarius Moore and threw way behind Streater on 3rd and 15. Thus far, his performance has not been very consistent and he has been hot and cold with his throws. A special teams play however, gave them a short field for the next drive.

The Raiders got down to the 1, but a false start by David Ausberry put them at the 5. As previously mentioned, where Pryor shined was in the redzone. On the scoring play, Pryor rolled out the pocket to his right as the play broke down, kept his eyes up the field and not on the oncoming rushers, saw Denarius Moore through a silver of daylight and lofted a beautiful pass right to a wide open Moore. Six points. In between the twenties, Pryor played okay, but every trip to the end zone ended wonderfully.

All in all, it was not a great performance by Pryor, but it wasn’t a terrible one either. Throughout the game, he continually showed that he wasn’t afraid of the moment and that the game wasn’t too fast for him. 13 of 28 isn’t a great first outing, but his receivers betrayed him and he made several nice passes. 9 for 49 on the ground with 2 passing touchdowns and one on the ground is certainly nothing to sneeze at if you are a fantasy football player. The Raiders really might have a quarterback who can advance the offense on the ground and as he develops chemistry with his receivers as well as learns how much touch to put on a pass, develop into a real NFL starter. As a dynasty fantasy football prospect, I would say Pryor delivered above expectation and is worth a speculative add in the off-season.