The New Orleans Saints training camp has been underway for a few days now. Going into the season, there were many questions about who would be the Saints’ third wide receiver. Some fans thought that second-year pro-A.T. Perry might fill that role. But as we move into the second week of practices, he’s trailing behind Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Cedrick Wilson Jr. with competitors like Mason Tipton picking up speed.
Head coach Dennis Allen had this to say when asked about the Wake Forest product: “I’d say he’s kind of holding steady right now. I’m kind of waiting to see him do something that jumps up and catches my eye a little. Certainly we’ve seen other guys step up and make some plays, some guys that we might no have expected. But I think A.T.’s doing fine, I think he’s got to do something to take that next step and make one of those plays that’ll catch our eye a little bit.”
That’s fine and good, but good is the enemy of great, and the Saints are hoping for more from last year’s draft pick. Allen continued with, “Well ‘doing fine’ in anything’s not going to cut it. He, along with a lot of other guys, have to do some things that catch our eye and impress us, and I’m still waiting on that for him.”
It’s clear New Orleans, and Allen in particular, has high expectations for Perry. He finished the 2023 campaign very strong, hauling in 12 passes for 246 receiving yards and scoring four touchdown catches in just eight games.
“But that’s why we come out here and practice and do the things that we do at practice and go through the evaluation process, we aren’t cutting the roster today,” Allen said. “He’s plenty talented enough to be on this team and plenty talented enough to make plays for us. I just think we need to see it a little bit more often at practice.”
The Saints wants to see him build off that strong showing in the back half of 2023, but for whatever reason, they aren’t seeing it from Perry just yet. It’s still very early, and it’s not a surprise that a former sixth-round pick isn’t making gigantic strides.
It’s obvious they want Perry to reach that next gear and truly stand out from the rest of the pack. I think this speaks volumes about how highly they regard the 24-year-old.
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