Raiders have a shot with Pryor

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In 1978, the Oakland Raiders took a fifth-round flier on a quarterback out of Kentucky named Derrick Ramsey. The Raiders were a winning operation and had Ken Stabler at quarterback, and the plan was to take a shot that Ramsey's size (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) could work elsewhere on the field. While not dominant, Ramsey did successfully convert to tight end, and in a few years was catching 52 passes for 674 yards for the Raiders. Years later, Oakland also drafted Ronald Curry in Round 7 of the 2002 draft, and the former North Carolina quarterback switched to wide receiver and had three seasons of 50-plus catches during a good little career.

Neither guy was a star, but neither was expected to be. This is late-round value, and while maligned for their drafting based on value, the Raiders have been quietly as good as any team in recent years when it comes to finding talent in later rounds. They may have done it again.

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Mel Kiper Jr.

Football analyst

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• ESPN NFL Draft analyst since 1984
• Contributes to SportsCenter and ESPN Radio
• Writes weekly for ESPN Insider