Of the edge rushers in this year’s NFL draft class, Oklahoma’s Ronnie Perkins has become one of the faster-rising prospects. In three years with the Sooners, Perkins showed good speed on the edge, strength against the run and a tendency to use his powerful hands when combatting offensive linemen.
But an incident near the end of the 2019 season may have hurt his standing to potentially be the first edge rusher taken this year.
Following Oklahoma’s win in the 2019 Big 12 Championship game, Perkins, along with two other teammates, tested positive for marijuana in an NCAA-administered drug test. Perkins was forced to miss six games because of the punishment stemming from the violation.
Therefore, in an already shortened 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Perkins was able to play in only six games, limiting his junior-season game film. Perkins, who participated in Oklahoma’s Pro Day last week, took responsibility for the failed drug test.
“I don’t really feel like I had to defend my character,” Perkins said. “That’s the stuff that comes with making bad decisions like that. If you’re going to make a bad decision you have to be prepared for what comes with it. Explaining myself and explaining my character, that’s going to come with making a bad decision.”
In the six games Perkins played, he tallied 5.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. Extrapolated over a 12-game season, which is what the Sooners played in 2020, those numbers would have been on pace for 11 sacks and 21 tackles for loss. His best game this past season came against rival Oklahoma State, which saw Perkins post two sacks and three tackles for loss.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said Perkins’ natural football ability has been on display since his freshman season. There wasn’t much that the coaching staff needed to teach him because of his ability to pick up plays quickly on the practice field.
“He’s one of those guys who’s not really a ‘rep guy,’” Riley said. “He’s just good at everything that you want him to do. He’s got really strong physical skills, a tremendous athlete. He’s got a fire and passion to play football. That’s one of the things we get asked the most. Does this guy love football? Ronnie is one of those guys you can unequivocally say he loves football. He loves every part of it. He loves to train, the process of practicing and improving.
“The better and more competitive the environment is, the more he raises his game up. He’s just a tremendous football player who I think is going to get a lot better, too.”
Perkins, who was listed at 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds by Oklahoma, primarily projects as a 4-3 defensive end whose main function would be to get after the passer. During last week’s Pro Day, however, he worked some drills to simulate how he would look as a 3-4 outside linebacker dropping into space. In one of those reps, Perkins impressed those in attendance with a one-handed interception, which may have shocked those who didn’t know his full background.
For Perkins, he was used to catching passes in high school, which meant pulling off this particular pick wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
“A lot of people who know me for a long time know I played tight end in high school,” Perkins said. “Catching the ball, it comes extra easy for me. I wish I could’ve played a little tight end in college. I wish coach Riley threw me on the offensive side. Catching the ball comes easy to me so the one-hander is not a surprise.”
Over the past six years, the Falcons have been looking to add a consistent dynamic pass rusher to the roster. In 2015, they thought they did so by taking defensive Vic Beasley with the eighth overall selection. However, Beasley never was able to re-create his 2016 season that saw him tally 15.5 sacks. He was allowed to leave via free agency in 2020. In 2017, the Falcons drafted defensive end Takk McKinley with the 26th overall selection. Failing to live up to expectations, McKinley was waived midway through the 2020 season.
The Falcons signed Dante Fowler to a three-year deal last offseason. After a season that saw him record only three sacks, Fowler agreed to take a pay cut for the 2021 season.
Considering the level of uncertainty about this year’s group of edge rushers, NFL Media draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said he could see a team willing to take Perkins earlier than expected because of the high effort he plays with.
“I have him in kind of the 30s on my list, but I would have no problem if he went late in the first round because he just plays his butt off, man,” Jeremiah said. “He can play with his hand down or you can stand him up. He’s got speed to power. He’s got some ankle stiffness there, but real violent hands.”
Throughout the pre-draft process, Perkins said he’s been stressing to teams just how competitive he is.
“With me, I play with an edge. I hate to lose,” Perkins said. “One thing I tell teams in my interviews, I love to win, but I hate to lose. That’s the biggest thing with me, I hate losing. They’ll be getting a competitive guy. They’ll be getting a guy who plays angry every snap and with an edge.”
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