It didn’t take long for Joe Douglas to act after losing Robby Anderson.
The Jets came to terms with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Breshad Perriman on Tuesday. The one-year, $8 million deal with $6 million in guaranteed money came together hours after Anderson signed with the Carolina Panthers.
A former first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens’ in 2015, Perriman bounced around the league before finding a home in Tampa Bay last season. His strong second half of the year was enough for Douglas and New York to feel confident in inking Perriman to replace Anderson.
So, what should Jets fans know about their newest free agent acquisition? Let’s get familiar with Perriman and what he brings to the table.
Limited opportunity, big-time production
Targets were hard to come by for Perriman in Tampa Bay last season. With Jameis Winston looking at Mike Evans and Chris Godwin more often than not, as well as O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate factoring into Bruce Arians’ passing attack, Perriman signed with the Buccaneers knowing it would be tough for him to carve out a stake in the offense.
That did not prevent him from achieving that feat, though.
Despite being targeted only 56 percent of the time, Perriman registered career-highs in receptions (36), receiving yards (645) and touchdowns (6). He ended the season on a tear, catching 25 passes for 506 yards in Tampa Bay’s final five games.
Say what you want about Perriman’s lack of production in the first half of the season, but that’s one heck of a way to leave your stamp on an offense.
From two-star to superstar
Considering what Perriman has achieved throughout his career in football, it’s hard to imagine that he was once extremely overlooked coming out of high school.
Perriman was rated a two-star recruit by Rivals.com and 247Sports in the Class of 2011. Perriman did not even earn a positional or state ranking by 247Sports.
Georgia is annually loaded with talent, but it’s hard to understand how a player of Perriman’s caliber got lost in the shuffle. Chalk the 6-foot-2 wideout up as one of the more recent misses by recruiting websites and the college coaches who passed on him to go on and make it big at the next level.
Speed demon
It goes without saying that you have to have top-end speed to be a successful wide receiver in the NFL, but what Perriman brings to the field is a different level of quickness.
Perriman was an elite youth track and field participant, competing in USA Track and Field Junior Olympic events before turning his attention to football. Perriman’s success on the track translated to success on the football field and some eye-popping 40-yard-dash times, including one of 4.19 at his pro day in 2015.
Perriman’s speed sent him flying up NFL draft boards and made him a first-round pick. As the old saying goes, speed kills. Perriman has plenty of that.
It runs in the family
Perriman might have grown up as a track and field star, but football has been in his blood since the day he was born.
Perriman’s father, Brett, was a former star at the University of Miami and played 10 seasons in the NFL for four different teams. At Miami, Brett lined up opposite of NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin. His best season came in 1986 with 34 receptions for 647 yards and four touchdowns — all second to Irvin.
Brett’s success in college made him a second-round pick of the New Orleans Saints’ in 1988. He retired with the Miami Dolphins in 1997, finishing his career with 525 catches, 6,589 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns.
