Ronnie Perkins is a pass rusher from the University of Oklahoma. Although they aren’t known for producing great defensive talents in the league, slowly more Oklahoma defenders are graduating into the NFL and Perkins is next in line. He is a smaller guy but plays a lot bigger than he is and should be a solid edge rusher in the NFL.

Strengths: 

  • Powerful Active Hands

The best part about Ronnie Perkins is probably his hand usage. They pack a big punch and can move offensive lineman off their spot. His hands are also very active and they are able to keep linemen hands away from his body.

  • Gets Around the Edge

Ronnie Perkins is able to get around the edge using two things. He has phenomenal hip dip and is able to get his body really low to the ground. He then turns to the corner with good ankle and core flexibility.

  • Good Finisher

Ronnie Perkins is able to finish sacks on the quarterback as well as finishing in the run game. He has a wide tackling radius and he is a violent player so he hits hard and finishes tackles away from his body.

  • Lot of Moves in the Arsenal

Ronnie Perkins has quite a few moves that he uses decently well. His best move by far is his club move and he sets up a nice rip move off of that. He also has a good swim move, long arm, and bull rush to go along with it.

Weaknesses: 

  • Rushes Out of Control Too Often

Sometimes Ronnie Perkins is rushing in without a clear plan. He’s sometimes so fixated on the quarterback that he forgets his assignment against the run, and also causes him to be useless in some pass rushing snaps.

  • Concerns Against the Run

While Perkins is sometimes very good at beating his lineman early, he completely disregards his responsibilities in the run game all too often, leaving his gap and not setting the edge which will be an issue. 

  • Not That Explosive

Ronnie Perkins isn’t the most explosive guy and for a guy who’s 250 lbs he should be a bit better in that aspect. He’s not terrible in this regard, but his first step quickness is average and his timing on the snap messes him up some times.. 

Player Comp: There isn’t really a close player comparison for Ronnie Perkins because of his pretty unusual skill set of having great hands and pass rush moves while being on the smaller end but still very strong. Takk McKinley is really the only guy who comes to mind as really even close to Perkins skill set in my opinion. Perkins isn’t as quick or explosive as McKinley but similar to McKinley both guys were smaller but still decently strong and had trouble holding their assignments in the run game, but they would make amazing plays to get into the backfield as well. I think we could see a career arc for Perkins similar to that of McKinley if a team uses high draft capital on him like was used on McKinley. 

Final Thoughts: Overall I think Ronnie Perkins is kind of a meh pass rusher. He’s not really exceptional at any one thing and even if he has a decent floor I just don’t see a whole lot of upside in picking Perkins. He’s a smaller edge rusher who relies on his strength, which can work but it’s just unconventional and I’m not sure how well that will translate to the NFL. Other guys have him Round 2 I’d take him in the beginning of Round 3 the earliest. He’s going to be best as a 4-3 DE although I think he wouldn’t be completely terrible as a 3-4 OLB. I think the Falcons would be a good fit because they need a reliable pass rusher who can get to the quarterback immediately and Perkins can help with that as soon as he gets to the league.