Samaje Perine Fantasy News and Statistics

After running back Matt Jones fell out of favor with the Washington Redskins in 2016, the team was forced to play seventh-round rookie Rob Kelley. While Kelley was a productive player, he had significant limitations because of his lack of foot speed and acceleration. The Redskins entered the offseason with running back high on their priority list and filled that need by drafting Samaje Perine in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Perine was a four-star recruit out of high school and chose to play for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. As a true freshman, he exploded onto the radar of NFL scouts when he rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns against West Virginia and 213 yards and three scores against Texas Tech. Later that season, Perine broke the FBS record for rushing yards in a game when he rushed for 427 yards and six touchdowns against Kansas. He would finish the year with 1,713 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns in just eight starts.

After his outstanding freshman season, Perine cooled off. He rushed for 2,409 yards and 28 touchdowns over his sophomore and junior seasons while he split time with Joe Mixon. In the final game of his junior year, Perine broke the Oklahoma record for rushing yards in a career with 4,122.

The scouting report on Perine is that his greatest skill is his strength. He benched 225 pounds an astounding 30 times at the NFL Scouting Combine, more than many linemen. He has a solid build that will be able to hold up to a heavy workload at the NFL level. Perine is an old-school, downhill runner who is a bull in short yardage and should carve out a career for himself as a goal-line back.

Perine isn’t a burner. He ran a 4.65 40-yard dash at the Combine, and his lack of speed and quickness will be an issue at the next level. He won’t be able to run past players like he did in college, and players can only get so far on brute strength. Additionally, Perine was only seldom used as a pass-catcher in college, and that won’t likely change in the pros. His limitations as a player are what led him to drop to the fourth round.

In the 2017 preseason, he earned a spot as the backup running back to Rob Kelley. Perine is a direct analog to the starter: a big back with incredible strength and no wiggle or quickness to get away from anyone. The speedy, diminutive Chris Thompson will operate as the third-down back, leaving Perine on the bench for the foreseeable future.

If Kelley were to go down with an injury, Perine is well-equipped to take over and fill the same role. However, the reason Matt Jones lost his job was fumbling, and Perine has struggled with the same problem. He lost four fumbles in his last two years at Oklahoma. If Perine isn’t able to hang onto the ball, he could have a short, forgettable career.