Here’s a quick-hit reaction to Breshad Perriman signing with the Jets. In my last offseason reactions piece, I looked at Robby Anderson signing with the Panthers. Perriman signed with the Jets on a 1-year, $8 million contract to replace Anderson in the deep-threat role in the Jets’ offense. Since this move has the most significant effect on Perriman himself, let’s take a short dive into Perriman’s career up to this point.
Perriman’s Journey
Perriman has had a rocky road throughout his NFL career. The Ravens drafted him with the 26th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Throughout the summer of 2015, the Ravens praised Perriman and expected him to start as a rookie. However, his career got off to the wrong track as he suffered a sprained PCL in training camp. While he was only supposed to miss a few games, he ended up missing his entire rookie season.
Coming into 2016, Perriman played as the number three receiver for the Ravens, behind Mike Wallace and Steve Smith, Sr. Considering he missed his entire rookie year, he performed decently, recording 33 receptions for 499 yards and two touchdowns. However, his 33 receptions came on 66 targets, representing just a 50% catch rate. That was the 15th worst mark among all qualifying receivers in 2016.
By 2017, the Ravens were starting to move on from Perriman. He began the season playing with the starters but was utterly ineffective. After suffering a concussion and dealing with knee injuries, the Ravens had seen enough of Perriman and made him a healthy scratch in some of the later games of the season. Perriman’s final 2017 line is one of the vilest receiving lines I’ve ever seen. He caught 10 of 35 targets for 77 yards and a touchdown.
After Perriman’s putrid 2017 season, the Ravens decided that they were done with Perriman and declined his 2019 fifth-year option. Then, they cut Perriman before the start of 2018, leaving the former first-round pick as a free agent. After a short stint in Washington, Perriman eventually settled with the Browns in Week 6. Perriman was the fourth wide receiver option in Cleveland, behind Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway, and Rashard Higgins. Even though Perriman only played 10 games and received limited work, he performed far better for the Browns that he had for Baltimore. He caught 16 of 25 targets for 340 yards and two touchdowns.
Since Perriman flashed in 2018, he received some attention as an unrestricted free agent during the 2018 offseason. He originally planned to re-sign with the Browns, but after the Browns traded for Odell Beckham, Jr., Perriman changed his mind. He signed with the Buccaneers on a 1-year, $4 million contract to be their #3 wide receiver behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Through Week 12, Perriman was mostly a non-factor even though he held off youngsters Justin Watson and Scotty Miller for playing time. He missed a couple of games due to injury and totaled just 11 receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown.
However, in Week 13, Perriman’s rise to relevance began. In that game, he had a mini-breakout with five catches for 87 yards. Then in Week 14, Evans left the game midway with an injury. Perriman stepped in as a starter and had three receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown. Week 15 was a signature game for Perriman. Starting alongside Godwin, Perriman caught five of six targets for 113 yards and three touchdowns. He provided fantasy owners a massive boost in the playoff semifinals for anyone who started him.
Additionally, in Week 15, Godwin suffered a season-ending injury. For Weeks 16 and 17, Perriman was, therefore, the top receiver on the Bucs. He totaled 12 receptions on 20 targets for 236 yards and a touchdown in those two weeks. Throughout the final five games, Perriman averaged over 100 yards per game and was a high-end WR1.
Perriman on the Jets
Coming into 2020, Perriman was once again a free agent. While the Bucs were interested in retaining him, they were strapped for cap space and also needed to budget for a massive extension for Godwin. Therefore, Perriman decided to sign with the Jets where he will fill the role vacated by Robby Anderson. Under Adam Gase, Anderson had 52 receptions on 96 targets for 779 yards and five touchdowns.
Unfortunately for Perriman, I think that Anderson’s 2019 output is Perriman’s 2020 ceiling. The Jets will still have slot man Jamison Crowder and running back Le’Veon Bell this season. Crowder and Bell accounted for 200 targets and 144 receptions in 2019. Also, tight end Chris Herndon will return in 2020, and the Jets also retained tight end Ryan Griffin, who had 41 targets in 2019. I believe that the Jets would like to funnel targets to Crowder, Bell, and Herndon and would have done that in 2019 if Herndon had stayed healthy. Gase consistently praised Herndon throughout the 2019 offseason and used Griffin in an every-down role in his place. Therefore, the Jets will use a receiving tight end in the offense, leaving less room for Herndon.
Also, Perriman will almost certainly have to compete with a first-round rookie receiver. The Jets have the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and many mock drafts have them selecting either Jerry Jeudy or CeeDee Lamb. Either Jeudy or Lamb would be ready to play right away and would immediately become the Jets’ top outside receiver. In 2019, the Jets tried to use Quincy Enunwa, Demaryius Thomas, and Vyncint Smith in outside roles, but a first-round rookie would be far superior.
Overall, I see little to no value for Perriman on the Jets. If anybody is somehow excited by this landing spot, I will try to sell Perriman before the Jets select a receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft. An early third-round rookie pick would be more than enough for me to move on from Perriman. I generally prefer to avoid players that failed for multiple years early in their career, and Perriman was a failure until the final five games of his fifth NFL season.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Justin. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.
