THE THRILL OF IT PAUL
Perkins ready to prove himself as Giants' No. 1 running back
At this time last year, Paul Perkins was a nowhere man.
Sure, he was a fifth-round draft pick but there was no physical evidence around the Giants’ team facility that he existed. Classes at UCLA were ongoing and, as a result, Perkins was not allowed to participate in the spring workouts with the Giants. Thus, he missed every one of the OTA practices, leaving him behind as a rookie. It came as little surprise it took him longer than desired to acclimate to the NFL and his playing time early in the season reflected that arrested development.
The nowhere man has evolved into, perhaps, the every-down man. Earlier this offseason, Ben McAdoo named Perkins the starting running back, a fairly startling pronouncement, given McAdoo’s preference for summer-long competition as it relates to depth-chart rankings. No doubt, McAdoo wanted to inject confidence into Perkins and a sense of stability to a running game that finished 29th in the league last season, averaging just 88.3 yards per game.
“I feel honored and blessed he would think so highly of me,’’ Perkins said last week after completing his 10th OTA practice. “So I just want to go out here and prove myself.’’
McAdoo did note Perkins will have the starting job only as long as he is able to hold it. So, nothing is guaranteed to last forever, although he does appear to be the most qualified player to handle the bulk of the workload. Veteran Shane Vereen is coming off an injury-filled 2016 season and is more of a pass-catching threat than an every-down runner. Orleans Darkwa, a career backup, returns from an injury-marred season. Journeyman Shaun Draughn, 29, was signed in free agency and Wayne Gallman of Clemson was taken in the fourth round of the draft and is sure to have growing pains.
Perkins set up his starting assignment with a strong end to his rookie season, averaging 4.8 yards per carry in this last three games, culminating with a 102-yard outing in the regularseason finale against the Redskins at FedEx Field.
To prepare for an increased pounding, Perkins says he has gained a few pounds, from 205 as a rookie to 213 pounds heading into his second season, though he said he is not sure he will be able to maintain the extra bit of bulk. Perkins is not a natural pass receiver, but he is improving in that area. As a runner, he is above the rest of the Giants pack as far as making defenders miss. As a pass protector, Perkins was brought along slowly and is currently able to carry out his assignments.
“Yeah, just got to go out there and protect Eli [Manning], that’s the main thing,’’ Perkins said. “Protect our franchise.’’
Unless a team has a bona fide stud at running back (Ezekiel Elliott of the Cowboys comes to mind), most teams use a backfield-by-committee approach. McAdoo in his two years as offensive coordinator shuffled his running backs. Last season, as the head coach, he gave the bulk of the carries to Rashad Jennings (181) and, eventually, to Perkins (112). If all goes according to plan, Perkins should be well over 200 rushing attempts in 2017.
“It’s important to me,’’ Perkins said. “There’s not a whole lot of guys, a handful of really special guys in the league right now, being out there grinding and helping the team win. At the end of the day that’s what it’s all about, so if there’s somebody better than you at some aspect of the game it’s only right you step down.’’
The coaching staff appreciates the way Perkins can plant his foot and change direction with a burst that gets him past onrushing defenders. If Perkins does not emerge as the workhorse in the backfield, the play has gone awry.
“What he’s shown is that in our system, you need three phases,’’ running backs coach Craig Johnson said. “You have to be able to run the ball. He was an effective runner last year. You have to be able to catch the ball. He did a good job in that and you have to be able to block people because they’re going to try you out. I thought that he probably improved the most in that situation. If you could do that, it allows you to be a possible back on all three downs.’’