After a shaky rookie year, can La’Mical Perine make a leap in Year 2 and rise to the top of a crowded New York Jets running back room?
Taken with 120th overall pick in the fourth round of Joe Douglas‘s inaugural draft as the New York Jets‘ general manager, La’Mical Perine had a rocky rookie season. Perine spent much of the year buried behind an ancient Frank Gore on the depth chart, but when he did get opportunities, he was unproductive.
Perine rushed for 232 yards on 64 carries, an average of 3.6 yards per carry that tied him with Cordarrelle Patterson for 76th out of 96 qualified running backs (21st percentile). He also struggled to make anything happen as a receiver, catching 11-of-15 targets for 63 yards and ranking 81st out of 96 running backs (16th percentile) with an average of 4.2 yards per target.
The rookie failed to outplay Gore and was significantly outperformed by teammates Ty Johnson and Josh Adams.
While Perine had a lackluster season overall, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the all-time great Florida Gator. He showed intriguing flashes of potential every once in a while. There are moments of promise on tape that the Jets’ new coaching staff can work off of.
Perine has a difficult challenge ahead of him as he is set to compete against a crowded running back room that features Johnson, Adams, Tevin Coleman, and Michael Carter. Can he beat out the competition and earn a featured role in the Jets offense early on? Or, will he find himself buried on the depth chart once again? Could he even be a surprise cut candidate?
Let’s dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly of Perine’s rookie-year film to get an idea of where he stands entering the 2021 season.
Positive flashes
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