Paul Perkins, RB, UCLA

Position: Running Back
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 208
Year: RS Junior
Hometown: Queen Creek, AZ
Experience: 2 year starter

Measureables:

40yd dash:           4.54
Broad jump:        10’4”
Vertical:                32”
Hand Size:            9”
Bench Press:      19 reps

Career Notes:

Perkins started every game in his junior and senior seasons as a Bruin as well as 4 games as a sophomore. His time in Westwood began as a relatively unheralded recruit as just a 2-star out of Arizona. After practicing on the scout team for his first year at UCLA, he first made an impact as a red shirt freshman, rushing for a touchdown and over 50 yards in 6 separate games. The strong end to his freshman campaign led to the first of two consecutive Most Improved Offensive Player awards. He led the Pac-12 in rushing as a sophomore with 1,575 rushing yards. As a junior, he was a co-captain and rushed for over 100 yards in 5 games, tying for 2^nd in the Pac-12 with 15 touchdowns scored.

Injury Report:

Did not miss any games in his 3 eligible seasons, playing in 13 each year. Left the game against Cal with a knee injury that was thought to be serious at the time, but did not miss any further game action because of it.

Career Stats:

Games:                 39

Rushing Yards    3,488

YPC                        5.6

Rush TDs             29

Receptions          80

Receiving Yds     739

Yards/Catch        9.2

Receiving TDs    3

Total TDs              32

Analysis:

Speed/Quickness – 3.5/5

Perkins is the prototypical quicker-than-fast running back, as his 4.54 40-yard dash time was right about average for a running back, ranking in the 55^th percentile. His film shows a back who can make a quick cut to hit the hole hard and has the speed to get through a hole before a defender closes it up. Perhaps his best displays of agility are in the open field, where he often stops on a dime, forcing the defender out of position before darting forward for more yardage. He somewhat curiously did not participate in any agility drills at the combine, but his performance on tape in that regard answers any questions about his quickness. 

Vision – 3.0/5.0

Perkins appears to be a great fit in a zone blocking scheme as he displays the patience to allow blocks to open up before making a decisive cut up field.  While he may be best suited in a zone scheme, he also displays a tenacity and elusiveness that would make him capable in a predominantly power-based run attack. However, his vision appears to stem from reading where a play is supposed to go and following blockers. The very best running backs, on the other hand, have the stellar vision and creativity to find rush lanes seemingly out of nothing.

Power – 1.5/5

If you could not tell from his combine weigh-in, one glance at Perkins’ tape will show you that he is not a large running back. Perkins’ lack of size does not preclude him from taking on contact, especially against secondary players that are more his size. He just does not have the mass to move an entire pile in short-yardage or goal line situations. His short-area quickness and abilities in the pass game will get him on the field, but he will probably have to come off the field in most situations where he will have to move the pile or trucking a defender.

Pass receiving – 3.5/5

Perkins’ most translatable skill from Day 1 will be his contributions in the passing game as he caught 80 balls in his 39 career games. A significant amount of those passes were in the screen game and not simply on dump-offs or in garbage time. Not only is he a strong pass-catcher, but the agility and elusiveness he displays when running in the open field also shows up when he is running routes or has the ball in his hands. Despite his skills as a pass-catcher, he may struggle to get on the field early on because he is a below-average pass blocker. While he gives a solid effort in pass-pro, even against players close to 100 lbs. heavier than him, he still too often will simply get in the way of defenders rather than block them. 

Ball security – 3.0/5

He had no notable ball-control issues while in college as he fumbled just 5 times in his UCLA career, losing 2. He holds the ball upright close to his shoulder thwarting opponents from easily knocking the ball from his hands. While his elusiveness is a strong-point, he does have a tendency to allow the ball to separate from his body while attempting to make defenders miss. This was not a problem on the college level, but could become an issue on the pro level where the athletes are much better and where there is more of an emphasis forcing turnovers on defense. This combined with his small hands (9 in. ranking in just the 22^nd percentile) could get him benched should he cough up the football.

Overall – 2.9/5

Perkins checks many of the boxes desired in a modern running back as he is elusive while also impressive as a pass-catcher. But his inability to be the bell cow running back of an offense combined with the overall devaluation of the position means it is unlikely he is drafted before the 3^rd round if he’s selected at all on the draft’s second day.

If drafted by the Packers:

While running back is not the Packers’ most dire need heading into the 2016 NFL Draft, Perkins would be a nice fit for an offense that has lacked a quality pass-catching running back since Ahman Green.  Because of the Packers adequate depth at the position with Eddie Lacy and James Starks, Perkins would not be depended on much early in 2016, but should he improve his pass-blocking and garner the trust of Aaron Rodgers, it would surprise no one if he began stealing snaps in what was a screen-heavy offense in 2015. Another Bruin, Jonathan Franklin, was supposed to be that guy for the Green and Gold when they selected him in the 2013 draft before a neck injury derailed his career. Perhaps the 2016 Draft marks the year where the Packers finally add a scatback to help return the offense to its former place among the league’s elite.

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