BEREA: Terrelle Pryor practices visualization, so he saw himself becoming a full-time starting wide receiver in the NFL way before the Browns made him one.
“I envisioned myself doing this,” Pryor said Thursday after practice. “I envisioned myself last year doing it, but I had a little [hamstring] injury. I try to make the most positive thoughts and believe that everything will be the best and it will work out the best way. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, but I saw this day. I’m happy, and I can’t wait to go play with my teammates.”
Pryor and rookie Corey Coleman are listed as the starting receivers for the Browns as they prepare to face the Philadelphia Eagles on the road Sunday in the regular-season opener.
“It’s not just a thing that I woke up and rolled out of bed and that is what happened. A lot of hard work [went] into it,” Pryor said. “This is what I expect. This is what I expected for myself — to be out there, be able to contribute to the team and make some big plays.”
Indeed, it’s been a long, winding journey for Pryor, a former Ohio State University standout.
He chose to switch from quarterback to receiver after the Cincinnati Bengals cut him last summer. Browns coach Hue Jackson, the Bengals’ offensive coordinator at the time, urged Pryor to make the change.
The Browns’ previous regime claimed him off waivers in June but cut him a few days before the 2015 regular-season opener largely because a lingering hamstring injury hindered him throughout training camp. He was out of work until the team re-signed him in December. He appeared in three games with two starts and had one catch for 42 yards.
Hats off to Pryor
Pryor emerged this year as one of the Browns’ most pleasant surprises. Without any significant injuries interfering, he caught five passes for 122 yards and a touchdown in the preseason.
“You have to really take your hat off to Terrelle and the staff,” Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown said recently. “He has worked really hard at turning himself into what we see as a really nice weapon, and he’s doing a great job perfecting his route running and getting on top of it to really understand the offense conceptually beyond just what his assignments are, catching the ball well and then getting used to doing all that in 11-on-11.
“We’ve seen him have some real success, and we think that’ll continue. So it’s been nice to see his work pay off. … I can’t say we’re completely surprised. We always thought Terrelle had a lot of ability, but it’s been nice to see his work pay off.”
Not satisfied
Yet Pryor, 27, knows he hasn’t even really scratched the surface as a receiver. He had two receptions for 57 yards in the Aug. 12 exhibition opener against the Green Bay Packers, but he wasn’t happy with his performance because he didn’t block well enough. He used the rest of the preseason to improve his play when the ball isn’t being thrown to him.
“I talked to one of our scouts today just to pick his brain and see what he thought I needed to work on, and one of his things he brought up was the first game he saw I was kind of uncomfortable with my pad level and stuff like that,” Pryor said. “He said from second game, third game, fourth game, he said it’s like a whole new person.
“So that’s something that I really keyed on that I wanted to be good at. I also wanted to catch. But I want to help my brothers out. When [Isaiah Crowell is] running the ball, I don’t want him to take extra hits. I want to make sure what I’m doing technique-wise, it’s sound. That’s something that I really focus on to try to be somewhat of a complete player.”
Skepticism remains
Despite Pryor’s rise, many outsiders remain skeptical about the Browns’ receiving corps, especially with former All-Pro Josh Gordon suspended for the first four regular-season games.
“Skeptical? Turn on the film and watch us. That’s all,” Pryor said. “We don’t really think about what other people say. But when you turn on the film, even in preseason, we make plays.”
The doubt stems from the group’s inexperience. Of the six receivers on the active roster, four are rookies: Coleman (first round), Ricardo Louis (fourth), Jordan Payton (fifth) and Rashard Higgins (fifth). Andrew Hawkins has started 25 games and Pryor two at receiver.
“We drafted these guys,” Pryor said. “They believed in them then, and there’s no reason not to believe in them now ’cause they had great practices in camp and got ready in OTAs. So we believe in them. Just because they’re young doesn’t mean anything. Obviously, they’re going to have a learning curve just like all of us, but there’s no reason not to believe in them.”
Some people didn’t believe in Pryor last year. But he saw himself making a successful transition, and it looks promising now.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.