Another touted 2025 NFL Draft prospect is now out for the season due to an unfortunate injury. After seeing East Carolina CB Shavon Revel and Penn State safety Kevin Winston each sidelined with long-term injuries, now standout LSU linebacker Harold Perkins is out.
Perkins tore his ACL in LSU’s win over UCLA, putting an end to the positional experimentation that wasn’t going smoothly for the 6-foot-1, 225-pounder. And that clouds how NFL teams will view Perkins, who is widely expected to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft.
LSU moved Perkins from an outside backer role into the middle of the defense, hoping to use his speed and range in a more dynamic MLB role. Picture the way the Browns deploy Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah or the way Foye Oluokun plays for the Jaguars (and the Falcons before that); speed-based attack dogs in the box who can also slide out and cover TEs over the slot.
That was a change for Perkins, who had been more of a pass-rushing outside backer in his prior seasons at LSU. Almost certainly too small and lightweight to play that role in the NFL, the move inside and to more traditional off-ball status was a move that should have really augmented his draft stock.
Except Perkins struggled in the middle. He missed too many tackles but also too many tackling opportunities. Block avoidance and attack angles were both very rudimentary works in progress. There were small signs of progress before his injury against the Bruins, but Perkins was a player who sorely needed reps and experience to help prepare him for his likely role at the next level.
Now that development is arrested by an injury that could keep the energetic Perkins out into training camp for whichever NFL team drafts him. Already a difficult prospect to project, Perkins becomes even harder to figure out where or when he goes in the 2025 NFL Draft thanks to the knee injury.