QB Bryce Perkins’ mobility has earned him a longer look from the Rams

Sean McVay likes Bryce Perkins’ athleticism and mobility, which has earned him a longer look in camp.

Sean McVay has a soft spot for quarterbacks who can make plays off-schedule and use their legs to create outside the pocket. Jared Goff may not be the most mobile quarterback out there, but his backups in recent years have boasted good athleticism and scrambling ability.

John Wolford certainly has quick feet, and one of Blake Bortles’ best traits is his mobility. This year, the Rams brought in Bryce Perkins as an undrafted rookie, and he’s the most athletic of the bunch – and one of the best runners of any quarterback in the 2020 draft.

The Rams gave him a vote of confidence on Tuesday when they waived quarterback Josh Love, which will give Perkins more reps in practice as they continue to evaluate him ahead of the season. McVay was asked whether Perkins’ mobility played a role in the decision to cut Love over him, and it’s clear that was a factor.

“Yeah, I think so. Bryce has done a nice job,” McVay said. “He’s earned the right to be able to get a couple more reps and for us to evaluate him. But, certainly, anytime that you can create off-schedule and be able to do some things that aren’t within the design of the play is a very good quality you like from QBs and John certainly has that.”

Perkins was a good passer at Virginia, throwing 47 touchdown passes and only 21 interceptions in the last two seasons. However, he was an even better runner, showcasing great vision and athleticism out of the backfield.

On 439 attempts, he rushed for 1,692 yards and 20 touchdowns, all but carrying the Cavaliers offense. Scrambling won’t be nearly as easy in the NFL if Perkins ever gets the chance to play in a game, but speed and athleticism don’t just suddenly go away upon leaving college.

Perkins is at least a fun wildcat quarterback to experiment with in McVay’s offense.

Shortened preseason raises concerns about Rams’ backup QB situation

The Rams will now have just two games to evaluate their three unproven backup QBs.

The Rams have put an alarmingly large amount of faith in three quarterbacks who have never taken a snap in the NFL as backup options behind Jared Goff. They currently have John Wolford, Bryce Perkins and Josh Love as candidates to replace Blake Bortles as Goff’s backup, though all three of them went undrafted in the last three years.

It’s hard to be confident in that group of unproven players, especially with the NFL now trimming two weeks from the preseason. That means the Rams will have even less time to evaluate their backup quarterbacks in game action, raising even greater concerns about the situation.

Wolford is the most experienced of the bunch and has a slight edge as of now, but he’s only attempted 44 preseason passes in his career. Perkins and Love went undrafted this year and have proved nothing in the NFL just yet.

While they must understand the league’s approach to the preseason, the Rams can’t be thrilled about the league trimming two games from the schedule. Wolford, Perkins and Love needed as many reps and as much playing time as they could get, but now they’ll have to split reps across just two games.

Will the Rams give Wolford significantly more playing time in the preseason, knowing he’s the top candidate for the backup job? Or will they evenly split the reps and hope one of the three players emerges in a big way as the clear-cut choice to back Goff up?

Even with four exhibition games, the backup quarterback group was a major concern; Gil Brandt of NFL.com called it one of the NFL’s biggest roster holes. Now, it’s an even bigger red flag.

The Rams should strongly consider signing a veteran to come in and compete for the backup job. Blake Bortles spent last year with the Rams and should have a firm grasp of Sean McVay’s system. Matt Moore stepped in for Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City and kept the Chiefs afloat for a few weeks last year.

Both players would be decent options for the Rams, at least giving them a decent fallback plan in the event that all three of their young quarterbacks struggle in camp and the preseason. This is certainly a situation worth monitoring.

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2020 NFL Draft: Why the Jets should take a quarterback

With the Jets in need of a backup quarterback, they could take one in the later rounds in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Jets don’t need a starting quarterback, not with Sam Darnold in the fold for years to come. They do, however, lack depth behind him, which is why it wouldn’t be surprising if they drafted a gunslinger later this week.

New York has two other quarterbacks on the active roster in David Fales and Mike White. Neither of them has proven that they’re capable backup quarterbacks, however, and the Jets have found themselves in need of one in each of Darnold’s first two seasons in the league.

Darnold has missed a combined six games due to a foot strain and mononucleosis. In those six games, the Jets are winless. Darnold hasn’t proven that he can play a full season and the Jets haven’t shown they can win without him.

It wouldn’t come as a shock if the Jets sign a veteran signal-caller in free agency, but what about drafting a quarterback in the later rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft?

According to the Daily News’ Manish Mehta, the Jets had virtual meetings with five quarterbacks: Princeton’s Kevin Davidson, Florida International’s James Morgan, Michigan’s Shea Patterson, Virginia’s Bryce Perkins and Iowa’s Nate Stanley. All are potential mid-to-late-round picks, which is all New York could afford to spend on a backup QB given other holes on the roster.

The Jets have one pick in the fourth round, one in the fifth round and two in the sixth round. Any of those picks could be used to draft a quarterback. None of those names are going replace Darnold at the top of the depth chart — and they may not even be viable backups right away — but the Jets could at least attempt to develop their own guy in Adam Gase’s offense and hope he turns into a reliable emergency option.

A new signal-caller is far from Gang Green’s most pressing need, but with a few options to choose from, don’t be surprised if the Jets add another quarterback with the hopes of him becoming Darnold’s understudy.

3 surprising moves the Seahawks could make in the NFL draft

The Seattle Seahawks are no strangers to surprises during the NFL draft. Here are three unexpected moves the team could make next week.

The Seattle Seahawks aren’t afraid to go against the grain in the NFL draft.

From trading out of the first round regularly, to taking players unexpectedly, to trading up to draft a punter, this team always keeps their fans and the rest of the league on their toes during draft weekend.

Expect more of the same this year. With seven draft picks in tow, including a late first round pick, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a lot of trades from Seattle once again in 2020.

However – let’s presume Seattle gets really weird. I’m not talking about taking a quarterback in the first round weird, or drafting another punter, since those two things seem too far outside the realm of possibility. But a late round quarterback? A fullback? Using an early pick on a safety even though they have four capable ones already? Yeah, that’s John Schneider’s music right there. Let’s explore:

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2020 NFL draft: Bryce Perkins scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Virginia quarterback prospect Bryce Perkins

Bryce Perkins | QB | Virginia

Elevator Pitch

Perkins is a dynamic athlete that could make a team on day three as a developmental project. He has some traits that will translate but will need to be molded into a NFL quarterback.

Vitals

Height | 6-3

Weight | 215

Class | Redshirt Senior

College Stats

College Bio

Strengths

Perkins is a dynamic athlete at the quarterback position. He wins by getting outside the pocket where he can threaten a defense with his legs. Not just because of the speed but he can be elusive in the open field. Defenses have to come up and play the run when Perkins gets outside the pocket as he will tuck it and run. This does open up some plays downfield where he will chuck the ball.

Perkins can throw the ball from different arm angles and different speeds. Shows some touch with floaters but will sling it if he needs to throw it into a tight spot. Shows the ability to have good accuracy at times. Has adequate arm strength.

Weaknesses

One of the big keys for Perkins to stick at the NFL level will be his consistency. If he gets out of rhythm, his game seems to fall apart. He becomes just a runner at that point of the game. He needs to become more accurate when throwing on the move. He got away with floaters in college that will get picked off at the next level.

Perkins will need a lot of work in going through progressions and reading the field in the NFL. More a of one-read and bail type of quarterback. Had issues with turning the ball over after locking on his lone read while at Virginia. A good third quarterback option while learning the NFL game.

Projection: Day 3

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2020 NFL Draft: Potential late-round QB targets for the Browns

The 2020 NFL Scouting Combine is one week away. Before we all know it, the NFL draft will be here as well. Browns nation has been talking about what new general manager Andrew Berry will do with the 10th overall pick. Yet, Days 2 and 3 could just as important for Berry and his staff.

In later rounds, Andrew Berry could look at selecting a quarterback the team can develop into a long-term backup for Baker Mayfield. The 24-year-old Mayfield is the Browns starting quarterback and that’s not going to change anytime soon. But it’s not the worst idea in the world to find someone that can back him up and come in to try and keep things afloat if Baker were to get injured or something happened to him.

Here are three options at potential quarterback targets:

Bryce Perkins, UVA

Perkins can bring athleticism style to the QB position. In 2019 he rushed for 769 yards and 11 touchdowns. Perkins has also shown the ability that he can be steady passer as well. He completed 64.4 % of his passes in 2019. He threw 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Athleticism and accuracy are part of a recipe for success in the NFL. It gives teams a different look. Perkins could turn into a serviceable/long-term backup quarterback in the NFL. He has plenty of room for growth.

Kelly Bryant, Mizzou

A quarterback that was once viewed as the next DeShaun Watson for Clemson. Then came Trevor Lawrence who beat out the veteran quarterback which then led to Bryant landing Missouri. In 10 games with Mizzou, Bryant threw 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He had a completion percentage of 62%. He has rushed for 17 touchdowns from 2015-2019. He has sneaky athleticism but isn’t going to be the fastest quarterback.

Like Perkins, Bryant has plenty of growth in his game overall. But playing five years of college ball could benefit him to have an easier learning curve in the NFL.

Anthony Gordon, Washington State

Here is a guy that hasn’t been talked about much but may actually be an earlier pick than most expect. Gordon was in the air-raid offense ran by my Mike Leach at Washington State. He had a tremendous amount of success statistically there. In 13 games, he completed 71.6% of his throws He ranked 2nd passing yards at 5,579, and also 2nd with 48 touchdowns, also throwing 16 interceptions. Needless to say, his stats are impressive.

Gordon may be more advanced in the passing game than most quarterbacks in the 2020 draft. This may be reach for Browns as someone who can be long-term option. In other words, a team like the Chargers, Patriots, Raiders may select Gordon as someone who can replace their current starting quarterbacks.