Is Paul Perkins Ready to Emerge?
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The quick and shifty Paul Perkins busted a game best 14-yard run last week against the Eagles and it sparked the Giants run game momentarily. He hasn't seen the field much, but he carried the ball 11 times for 32 yards and had 3 catches for 15 yards this past Sunday. His longest catch against the Eagles was 15 yards which obviously meant the other 2 catches went no where.
He was a 5th round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft from UCLA. I was so against this pick originally because of already having Rashad Jennings, Shane Vereen, Orleans Darkwa, and Andre Williams in the backfield. What was the need for another running back?
Well, Rashad Jennings is a good running back but he has only carried the ball 64 times for 168 yards and 1 touchdown. He is only averaging 2.6 yards per carry and they know what they have with him. The Giants have won all 5 games he has played in this season. The Giants lost all 3 games when he was injured.
Shane Vereen is a wide receiver playing running back. I feel like he did a better job of catching the ball than running with it, and he also had fumbles issues. Vereen was put on injured reserve after week 3 because of a torn bicep. Andre Williams was released before the season began.
It is quite possible Paul Perkins will see the field more than Rashad Jennings in the second half of the season because of his game breaking speed. Yes the running blocking isn't the greatest in the world, but maybe someone who is explosive can maybe make this offensive line look a little better?
Perkins has 21 carries for 71 yards rushing so far this season. He is averaging 3.4 yards per carry. That is better than what Jennings is doing, but I believe they should split the snaps for now until Perkins is truly ready to take over the number 1 spot. He also has 9 catches for 120 yards. One of those catches was a 67-yard gain in week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings.
