Paul Kerry Perkins II (born November 16, 1994) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, leading the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

in rushing as a sophomore in 2014. He earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors the following year. He was selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the fifth round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

, and was also a member of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Early life

Perkins attended Chandler High School in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, fourth-most populous city in Arizona ...

, where he played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

with his childhood friend and future college teammate

Brett Hundley Brett Alan Hundley Jr. (born June 15, 1993) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins football, UCLA Bruins, where he was the school's career leader in both total of ...

. As a senior, Perkins was named first-team all-state after rushing for 1,297 yards and 20

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. He was also the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

(MVP) of the track team, which won the state title. Considered a three-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', he was rated as the 40th-best athlete prospect of his class. On December 4, 2011, he committed to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

over offers from Fresno State and Northwestern.

College career

Perkins

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a true freshman in 2012. In

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, he became the Bruins' primary rusher after starter Jordon James sprained his ankle. Perkins started four games, and rushed for 573 yards on 134 carries (4.3 avg) and six touchdowns. He also caught 24 passes for 296 yards. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, he worked his way into a pivotal role in the offense. As a backup to James in the season opener, Perkins ran for 80 yards against Virginia. He later became the team's starter. With starting

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Hundley exiting in the first quarter after an injury, Perkins gained 195 all-purpose yards in a 20–17 win over

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. In the

Alamo Bowl The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and the second ...

, he was named the game's offensive MVP after running for a then-career-high 194 yards and scoring two touchdowns in a 40–35 win over Kansas State. He finished the season as the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

leader with 1,575 yards rushing, the second-highest in UCLA history behind Johnathan Franklin (1,734 in 2012). In

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Perkins ran for a career-high 219 yards against BYU. He finished his junior year with 1,343 yards and 14 touchdowns, and was named second-team All-Pac-12. After the season, he decided to forgo his senior season and declared for the

Statistics

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of UCLA, Perkins was projected to be a third to fourth-round draft pick by various draft analysts. He was rated as the seventh-best

by NFLDraftScout.com. Perkins was invited to the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

but was unable to finish all the drills after suffering an injury to his hamstring while running his

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

. Scouts and analysts gave mostly positive reviews focused on his one-cut ability, quality vision, reliable hands, decisive gap selection, and willingness to pick up blitzes. He was also criticized for his lack of consistent play speed, limited route options, and smallish frame.

New York Giants

Perkins was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

with the 149th overall pick. He signed a four-year, $2.59 million contract that included a signing bonus of $252,548. Perkins entered the 2016 season as the Giants' fourth running back on the depth chart, behind veterans Rashad Jennings, Bobby Rainey, and

Orleans Darkwa Orleans Opoku-Darkwa (born February 28, 1992) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave football, Tula ...

. Late in the year, Perkins was being used as the primary back, in front of Jennings. In the regular season finale against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, he had 21 carries for 102 rushing yards. The Giants lost in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. In May 2017, Giants head coach Ben McAdoo named Perkins the starting running back. Perkins played in 11 games in 2017 season and finished with 41 carries for 90 rushing yards and eight receptions for 46 yards. On May 10, 2018, he was waived by the Giants with a non-football injury designation after suffering a pectoral injury in the offseason, and then placed on their reserve/non-football injury list. On September 16, 2019, Perkins was waived by the Giants.

Detroit Lions

On September 17, 2019, Perkins was claimed off waivers by the

. He was released on October 17 and re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on October 23. He was released on October 30 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 2. He was waived on November 16. In four games with the Lions, he recorded 12 carries for 29 rushing yards.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 3, 2019, Perkins was signed to the

practice squad. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the Jaguars' season on January 6, 2020.

Baltimore Ravens

On January 7, 2020, Perkins was signed to the

practice squad. His practice squad contract with the team expired on January 20, 2020.

Indianapolis Colts

On November 19, 2020, Perkins was signed to the

practice squad. On January 10, 2021, Perkins signed a reserve/futures contract with the Colts. He was released on May 3, 2021.

Personal life

His father, Bruce Perkins, played fullback at Arizona State and briefly in the NFL. His uncle, Don Perkins, played eight seasons as a running back with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. His younger brother, Bryce Perkins, plays quarterback for the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in Metro Detroit. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home gam ...

of the UFL.

References

External links

*
UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Paul 1994 births Living people American football running backs Players of American football from Mesa, Arizona UCLA Bruins football players New York Giants players Detroit Lions players Jacksonville Jaguars players Baltimore Ravens players Indianapolis Colts players Chandler High School (Arizona) alumni