Take a bow, A.T. Perry. The NFL announced Monday that the New Orleans Saints wide receiver led the league with 176 receiving yards across three preseason games, just ahead of Los Angeles Chargers wideout Simi Fehoko (170). The former Wake Foreset wideout is a gamer.
He needed to make some plays in these exhibition games after struggling to string together good days of practice at Saints training camp. Perry had too many dropped passes and quiet days in Irvine in-between leaping grabs worthy of the highlight reel. It wasn’t the consistent, productive growth his coaches hoped to see. And charting from NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill found that Perry caught just one ball from Derek Carr in team drills all throughout camp. That’s concerning.
But there’s a lot to be said for turning it on when playing under the bright lights. There aren’t many receivers who weigh in at 6-foot-3 and 198 pounds who can run 40 yards in just 4.47 seconds, and of those who can only a few match Perry’s body control and concentration on tough catches. He’s got a rare combination of size, speed, and skill. Pro Football Focus charting says he dropped just one pass on 13 targets.
Is that enough to keep Perry on the roster? Probably, but we’ll just have to see how the coaches feel about their receiving corps. Other players like Equanimeous St. Brown have been more steady presences at practice while getting looks ahead of Perry in the preseason games. He’s someone to watch as roster cuts are filed ahead of Tuesday’s deadline and in the days that follow when the depth chart continues to take shape.
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