Nick Perry, outside linebacker
Sticking with the theme of a player suddenly showing up huge in a contract year, let’s talk about Nick Perry, who exploded with 11 sacks for the Green Bay Packers this past season.
Before 2016, Perry had tallied just 12.5 sacks in his previous four seasons with Green Bay. A hyped player coming out of USC in 2012, Perry underwhelmed as a pass rusher his first four seasons and only started 16 games because of this fact during that stretch. Then suddenly, he turned up the heat last year, starting 12 games and posting his most productive — by far — campaign as a pro.
So does this mean that Perry is suddenly going to become a perennial double-digit sack guy? We’re certainly not convinced. Especially in light of the fact that, in addition to the aforementioned history lesson, Perry earned very low pass-rushing grades from PFF, which ranked him No. 38 in the NFL in 2016.
It will be telling to see what happens during Green Bay’s negotiations with Perry. The Packers are expected to be much more aggressive than normal this offseason (more on that here), but will they aggressively go after retaining Perry?
Pass rushers are premium players in the NFL these days. If the Packers don’t re-sign Perry, he’ll get big offers elsewhere, despite his questionable credentials, much like Olivier Vernon did last year with the New York Giants.