Prospect Watch: Paul Perkins

With all signs pointing toward Doug Martin leaning towards the money, what other options in the draft my the bucs look to fill the void? Step in Paul Perkins from UCLA. Perkins is a smaller player standing 5'10 weighing 208, but the guy has toughness compiling 3491 and 29 touchdowns in 3 years. His ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and make something out of nothing is similar to our own Charles Sims. He possess the make you miss quickness in space that didn't go unnoticed by scouts, per Rotoworld.com

"In a year of great college running backs, you might be surprised to know that Paul Perkins was the hardest one to tackle," PFF noted. "He led the country in PFF’s elusive rating at 114.7. He forced 85 missed tackles on 265 touches. Perkins lacks size and stature (5-11, 210 pounds), so he’ll need to impress scouts with his speed, quickness and pass-catching ability." Rotoworld likes what it has seen on Perkins' tape. We aren't surprised by Perkins' showing in the elusiveness metric. He's an ankle-breaker through and through.

Perkins ran a 4.54 forty yard dash which isn't blazing but comparable to Doug Martin, who ran a 4.55 and he has shown his ability to break off big runs. His vision is his strongest trait as he constantly is seen on tape setting up blocks and anticipating his cutting lanes. Perkins likely can be had in the 3rd round or later due to the drop in value of running backs. His comparison from some unknown NFC GM isn't half that bad either, per NFL.com

"Poor man's Jamaal Charles. The tape tells you everything on him. He's not big, he's not fast, he has great feet and he competes. The combine workout won't tell you anything new. I'm interested to meet the kid and see what he's like." -- NFC general manager

"Poor man's Jamaal Charles" sounds pretty good to me if he can be had say in the 4th round. Who's to say that NFC GM wasn't your own Jason Licht. Perkins has all the traits to make him a fine player in the NFL and would look pretty good in a Bucs uniform.