I, of course, prefer a LT with the measurables and draft pedigree that would better indicate that they have the capacity to play at a very high level.
However, I am reminded of a great Colt by the name of Jeff Saturday whom, as we all know, was judged to not have the "skills" to be a long time starter in the NFL and the experts were wrong.
On Matt Pryor, I am struck by the lack of negatives in his NFL.com draft profile located
here.
They rate him as a 5th or 6th round choice (eventually being drafted in the 6th by PHI) but the only negatives they talk about are:
-- He was heavy (390) coming out of college and might be lax about weight management.
-- Avg lateral movement and could struggle against change of pace rushers.
-- Reputation for being a bit lazy.
Typically, when you look at lower round O-linemen profiles, they list a whole host of issues mostly centering around lack of technique, lack of quickness or lack of effort. Except for the lazy/lack of weight management, there is not much there.
And, assuming that the coaching staff has been able to get him to maintain his healthy weight ($5.5m would indicate that they have), then it really boils down to him just being able to play within the system.
In this article, Pryor was identified as one of 35 players not invited to the combine in 2018 that the writer felt would be drafted (
here):
Quote:
Matt Pryor, TCU (6-6, 343, 5.60)
Over the past three seasons, Pryor was interchangeable between right guard and right tackle, earning praise from the TCU coaches for his versatility. His weight needs to be monitored and he tends to play tall, but he is coordinated in his shuffle with the ability to sustain blocks.
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And while I cannot see individual breakdowns from PFF, his first two seasons with PHI were underwhelming grades (62.0 and 55.0 which is NFL average to slightly below NFL average), his 2021 grade was a 76.5 on 438 snaps which grades out to an above average starter (the 80.0 threshold being the "elite" player).
So, bottom line is that I feel better about giving Pryor a shot at starting. He played well there in 2021, the Colts are obviously okay with his effort and weight management because Ballard does not re-sign someone who they are not happy with (i.e. Carson Wentz) and I have little doubt that there will be an OT drafted somewhere in the 2nd/3rd/4th round of 2022 in a deep O-Lineman class that could potentially be the long-term swing if Pryor works out and signs a long term contract in 2023 or can end up getting a shot at LT if Pryor does not work out.
Bottom line is this is where we appear to be going so, I better get onboard!
