Saints' late-round pick could be one of the NFL Draft's biggest steals
Michael Thomas, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Bryan Edwards give the New Orleans Saints a solid wide receiver room. They certainly felt that way in last week's NFL Draft when diving into their strategy. The Saints didn't address the receiver position until the 195th pick in the sixth round, their final selection. With it, New […]
Michael Thomas, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Bryan Edwards give the New Orleans Saints a solid wide receiver room. They certainly felt that way in last week's NFL Draft when diving into their strategy.
The Saints didn't address the receiver position until the 195th pick in the sixth round, their final selection. With it, New Orleans took A.T. Perry out of Wake Forest.
Perry's consistency left something to be desired at Wake Forest, but this is great value for the Saints in Round 6. Perry has an impressive catch radius paired with an ability to create separation downfield. He's coming off back-to-back seasons at Wake Forest with at least 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdown receptions.
The former Demon Deacon has things that just can't be taught.
Perry is 6'3" and weighs 198 pounds with 33 1/4" arms. Perry's 4.47 speed is excellent for his size and he possesses athleticism with a 35-inch vertical and 11'1" in the broad jump.
With his size, Perry can shield defensive backs off from making plays on the ball and does a good job of high-pointing contested throws. Also, he is elusive and shifty enough to take a short pass and run it 60-70 yards for a score at any time.
Once he gets acclimated to the speed of the game in the NFL and what the Saints want to do offensively, Perry has the potential to be a dangerous weapon. Yes, he can take advantage of guys on the outside with his size and speed, but Perry has experience in the slot so he can be a matchup nightmare in the middle of the field.
Perry was dominant over the last two seasons. He racked up 71 receptions for 1,293 yards and 15 touchdowns on 18.2 yards per reception in 2021. His numbers dropped slightly a year ago but Perry still had 81 catches for 1,096 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Receivers with the size, speed, and athleticism of Perry aren't usually on the board in the sixth round. Now, time will tell if Perry ends up being another on a long list of good NFL players who were drafted late.
