By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: Over the past three years, Perkins was one of the most consistent and dangerous edge rushers in the Big XII. He made an immediate impact for the Sooners as a freshman, recording five sacks and 37 tackles in a solid debut. He was even better as a sophomore, totaling 38 tackles and six sacks while starting 13 games. A failed drug test led to him being suspended for Oklahoma’s playoff game against LSU, and that suspension carried over for five games in 2020. In his shortened season, Perkins notched 24 tackles and 5.5 sacks.
As a pass rusher, Perkins is quick off the edge and really is an aggressive defender to work upfield with disruption in the backfield. He has a burst off the ball and the ability to get leverage on offensive tackles. While Perkins lacks length, he has some strength in his upper body to lean into backpedaling tackles and get them rolling backward. Perkins shows some active hands and an ability to adjust to scrambling quarterbacks. For the next level, Perkins has some stiffness and needs to continue to develop his pass-rushing moves.
Perkins has some limitations for the ground game in the NFL due to being short, lacking length, and being underweight. Strong offensive tackles in college were able to push him around and knock him out of his gap. That will continue in the NFL, where he will have issues becoming a good run defender. With his stiffness, Perkins is not a good fit to move to outside linebacker, he might be limited in the pros to playing as designated pass rusher.
“[Perkins is] a good backup to me,” said an area scout. “I graded him in the fourth round and think he is a backup right defensive end.”
Perkins looks likely to be a third- or fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Player Comparison: Shaq Barrett. Some team sources said Perkins’ style of play at Oklahoma was similar to Barrett, and they are almost identical in size. Those sources, however, do not believe Perkins will be as good or as productive as Barrett has become in the NFL.
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