The Washington Redskins are getting ready for their training camp and the start of the 2017 NFL season. Here is a look at how Samaje Perine will fit into their new offense.
Prior to the 2017 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins had a major goal in mind. Upgrade their defense. The major weakness for their 2017 team was at each level of their stop unit, and they focused on taking defensive players to fix their problems early on. However, one of their best draft picks came when they took their first offensive player off the board in the fourth round.
Running back Samaje Perine of Oklahoma was a steal at the beginning of Day 3. The big, strong runner was overshadowed by teammate Joe Mixon for a majority of his final season, but he is almost as good as the controversial Mixon. Perine is a massive back who routinely broke tackles over the course of his Big 12 career. He set an NCAA record with 427 rushing yards in a single game, and he has big play potential for the next level.
Perine is one of the many Redskins who will be looking to prove themselves early on in their careers. With no starter set in stone at the running back position, Perine will have a chance to impress and possibly win the gig prior to the season. Sure, he will have to compete with second year man Robert Kelley for touches early on, but Perine offers more upside and could have a chance to unseat him early on.
Right now, Perine is a favorite of mine to make a bigger impact on the team than most expect. Part of that is related to the skill set that he will bring to the position.
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.
Expectations for Samaje Perine
It’s not always fair to heap enormous expectations onto rookies. But I’m willing to bet that Perine is going to be a starter early on in his career. The facts are simple. He fits very well into the Redskins offense, and compares to the other backs that have seen success with the ‘Skins like Kelley and Alfred Morris.
Perine has little competition to lock down the starting role. As good as Kelley was as a rookie, he looks to be more of a high caliber rotational back than a lead back. Even if Kelley is the starter at the beginning of the season, there is a strong chance that he will be splitting carries with Perine by October, if not, sooner.
Most importantly, Perine is an NFL ready player. His strength will allow him to succeed as he improves the other aspects of his game. The more he continues to spend time in the system, the more he will learn and get better. During his first season, Perine realistically should emerge as the lead back for the team, as he is the most talented member of their backfield.
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Perine might not be ready to be a 1,000 yard rusher yet. But one thing is certain. The Redskins are going to want to use him quite a bit over the course of the season. Perine is a player who should be very good, and could end up playing a big role as a member of the Redskins offense in 2017.