calvin-pryor-louisville

As we continue to wade through all the potential options for the Baltimore Ravens who will be choosing at Number Seventeen in Round One we stop yet again on aposition of need. Replacing a player of Ed Reed’s caliber is no easy task and last season Baltimore didn’t really have a true Free Safety on the back end, instead using two players more suited to the Strong Safety in James Ihedigbo and 2013 First Rounder Matt Elam. The results were mixed and the Ravens decided to let Ihedigbo walk.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

The team has been especially busy this past week signing several players to enhancetheir depth. However, the hole at Free Safety remains. Could the Louisville product be a good fit to help stabilize the secondary?

Let’s take a look.

Calvin Pryor

Louisville

Safety

Height: 5’11”  Weight: 207 lbs.   40 Time: 4.58

Strengths:

-Solid tackler in the open field

-Hard hitter with an intimidating presence

-Plays with great confidence

Weaknesses:

-Too Reckless at times; Should draw plenty of flags in today’s NFL

-Lateral agility is questionable

-Used primarily in zone coverage; Ability in Man is unknown

My previous post focused on the other Safety of note in the First Round, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix so naturally there will be plenty of comparisons between these two players. The biggest question to me is essentially can Pryor play the Free position in the pros. When you take a hard look at the tape he seems to project as a more natural Strong Safety due to his hitting ability and questions regarding coverage.

It would seem then that the Ravens should pass on Pryor come draft day as Baltimore already spent a first rounder a year ago on Elam. However, Pryor does possess some intriguing skills. He possess great instincts and has a strong ability to stuff the run. He also brings a bit of the swagger that was missing from the Ravens defense over last season. He was always around the ball for the Cardinals defense and had a knack for forcing fumbles and picking off passes. That type of production was also lacking a season ago in Charm City.

Pryor has great potential as a professional if he can harness his intense style to properly mesh in the NFL. He has great tools and could help a lot of teams, I just wonder if Baltimore would be the best landing spot for him. I think as we saw last year Baltimore needs a player that is more of a centerfielder and Pryor sounds more like a power hitter.

 

Matt Jergensen
Matt Jergensen

Matt has lived in Maryland his entire life and is a graduate of Calvert Hall and Towson University. has always been an avid Baltimore sports fan. Since 2007, he has been writing and talking about Baltimore sports, especially the Ravens. His work has appeared on Ravens Gab, Russell Street Report, and he currently co-hosts a podcast “The Blitz- A Ravens podcast” with Brent Harris.

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