Fluke Or For Real? Jets Are Gambling On Breshad Perriman’s Strong 2019 Finish

Drafted 26^th overall by the Ravens in 2015, Breshad Perriman hardly lived up to expectations.

The big-bodied, speedy receiver out of Central Florida was a bust in Baltimore. He landed on injured reserve as a rookie and then totaled 43 receptions, 576 yards and three touchdowns in 27 games, only four of which were starts, over the course of the next two seasons.

Not too long after that, the Ravens said goodbye to their first-round pick. Perriman signed with Washington in September 2018 but was waived after just five days with the team. Then the Browns took a flier on Perriman and got three solid games out of him at the end of the season. It wasn’t until there were only five games left in the 2019 season, however, that Perriman finally looked like a player with a first-round pedigree.

Playing for the Buccaneers, Perriman struggled to standout among Tampa Bay’s crowded receiving corps at first. He grabbed just 11 balls for 139 yards and one score in his first nine games. Once again, it looked like another poor season was in store. But then, with Tampa’s top receivers injured, Perriman caught fire at the end of the season, hauling in 25 passes for 506 yards and five touchdowns in the Bucs’ final five games.

He became the first player in the last 15 years to put up 500 yards, five touchdowns and 20 yards per catch in his team’s final five contests.

Perriman parlayed that feat into a one-year deal with the Jets. The pact gives him $6 million guaranteed and he has the potential to earn an additional $2 million.

As far as money goes, that’s not much of a risk for New York. However, with Robby Anderson off to Carolina, Gang Green is gambling on Perriman leading its receiving core after less than half of a strong season. Perriman said Friday that his end to 2019 was “just a tiny glimpse” of what he can do, but potential has never been his problem. Production on the other hand? That’s a different story.

For what it’s worth, Perriman believes he can build off what he did last year.

“I have no doubt in my mind it’s definitely going to be a season to remember for me as far as production-wise,” he added.

The Jets are going to need Perriman to prove that those five games were no fluke, because they don’t have many other options right now for Sam Darnold to throw to. Jamison Crowder and Quincy Enunwa are the only other reliable receivers on the roster, but both perform best out of the slot. Enunwa, meanwhile, is still a question mark after undergoing the second season-ending neck surgery of his career.

Even if the Jets draft one of the top wideouts in this year’s class, asking a rookie to lead the charge is far from easy. So in any scenario, Perriman is going to be New York’s No. 1 receiver, at least at the start of the season.

Whether that’s by default or earned remains to be seen, but the Jets, like Perriman, sound confident in the player they’re getting.

“Obviously his career trajectory was different than most first-rounders,” said Jets GM Joe Douglas, who scouted Perriman while in Baltimore’s front office. But I think you’ve seen it in the back half of two years ago with Cleveland and then at the end of this year.”