Washington Redskins Training Camp Profile 2017: RB Samaje Perine

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LAWRENCE, KS – OCTOBER 31: Running back Samaje Perine /

Samaje Perine’s skill set

The name of the game with Perine is his incredible strength. Though Perine has an average 5-foot-11 frame, he weighs a whopping 233 pounds. It looks like that weight is pure muscle, and it is easy to see why on the football field.

At Oklahoma, Perine constantly seemed to run over opposing tacklers. His powerful lower body always was churning to help him move forward and he was easily able to shake off arm tackles thanks to his strong upper body. In a recent ESPN piece, John Keim outlined Perine’s strength off the field, which included a story that saw him lift a car, by himself, to help a woman change her tire.

But strength is only part of the equation for Perine. In the spread happy, run and gun style Big 12, he proved to be a different breed of back. Not only did he possess incomparable strength, but he did have solid abilities in the passing game and a bit of game breaking speed too. He was an all-around back who served as option 1-B for the Sooners behind Mixon. It’s fair to wonder how he would have fared as a full time lead back in another system.

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With the Redskins, Perine’s skill set should transfer over very well. Strength is often what younger players have to work on early in their careers. With an NFL ready body, Perine will be able to handle the punishing blows of NFL defenders and shake some of them off. And as he learns the tendencies of NFL defenders and the blocking scheme in Washington, he could be ready to produce at a high level earlier than some expect.

In fact, Perine could have similar success to his current competition, Rob Kelley. Last season, Kelley emerged as a physical threat for the Redskins offense who was able to constantly fall forward for positive yards. However, Perine’s conditioning is even better than Kelley’s, so he really could end up reaching the point Kelley did midway through the season in Week 1. Still, the experience that Kelley has gives him the edge, but there is no doubt that he will be looking over his shoulder during training camp and the preseason.

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