After joining the program as a “bounce-back” transfer from Arizona Western College, Bryce Perkins put together two spectacular seasons at Virginia.

Perkins overcame a serious neck injury in his career at Arizona State and eventually led UVa to 17 wins, victories in the Commonwealth Cup and Belk Bowl, and a Coastal Division title. He was a dynamic dual-threat QB and a perfect fit for Robert Anae and UVa’s offense. Through the air, Perkins threw for 2,680 yards and 25 touchdowns with just nine interceptions as a junior before setting a program record for single-season passing yards as a senior, throwing for 3,538 yards in 14 games. He finished his Virginia career with 47 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions with five 300-yard passing performances.

As a runner, Perkins was a dangerous weapon that gave defenses fits on a weekly basis. As a junior, he rushed 212 times for 923 yards and nine scores with four 100-yard games as well as three with multiple rushing touchdowns.

Perkins wasn’t asked to do as much with his legs early in his senior season but had some big performances down the stretch. He ultimately rushed 227 times for 769 yards this past fall, putting up 11 TDs. All three of his 100-yard rushing performances as a senior came in Virginia’s winning streak to end the regular season, including a 164-yard, two-touchdown effort against Virginia Tech.

Perkins was also a revered leader who was named a team captain as a senior. The Arizona native also won the Dudley Award, given to the best college football player in the Commonwealth, in both of his seasons at UVa.

The best parts of Perkins’ game are rather obvious: He is a dynamic athlete with elite speed at the quarterback position. Perkins is a tough runner who is creative and does a great job finding ways to stretch a run for every yard he can get. He has good size as well, and proved difficult to corral during his Cavalier career.

Perkins’ running ability is probably the biggest strength in his game, which coincides with his ability to extend plays. Virginia’s offensive line was a mixed bag in front of Perkins, and he was able to make up for some mistakes by avoiding defenders and getting out of the pocket. That allowed him time to find a receiver down field or take off and run.

A solid short-to-intermediate thrower, Perkins hit a lot of his completions around the line of scrimmage. When he had Olamide Zacchaeus in 2018, Perkins was able to deliver the ball on quick breaking routes and allow him to catch and run.

Finally, Perkins took a slew of hits during his Virginia career, and never missed more than a few plays.

While he is an explosive athlete who can certainly find a role at the next level, there are several areas that are likely giving teams pause heading into the NFL Draft.

Perkins was an above-average thrower in college but struggles in some of the areas that differentiate a good college quarterback from a sure-fire NFL prospect. He has a tendency to sail deep throws and wasn’t nearly as sharp down the field as he was on quick throws. As a senior, Perkins completed 22 of his 65 throws of 20 yards or more, with just four of his 22 passing touchdowns on downfield throws. He doesn’t have excellent velocity and has a tendency to float balls in to receivers. Perkins struggled at times on out throws, missing his targets high or wide on occasion. He also struggled under pressure, with just a 35.3 passing grade per Pro Football Focus under duress. Perkins was sacked 47 times and while many of those weren’t his fault he did have a few where he tried to extend plays unsuccessfully, or held the ball too long.

He also had a number of throws in each game that could be described as forced throws into coverage or bad reads. Some of them he got away with but early in the season he saw an increase in his interception total from the previous year. And while Perkins showed rugged durability during his Cavalier career, he does have significant injury history. The neck injury at ASU was a serious one and he did hurt his hand as a junior and needed off-season surgery to correct it, before missing some time in fall camp with a knee injury. That setback forced him to wear a brace for the first five games of the 2019 season.

Perkins has the “it” factor that doesn’t always show up in a box score or in a 40 time. Without his creativity and production, there is no way that UVa accelerates as a program as quickly as the Cavaliers have over the past couple of years with him.

When the chips were down, he always seemed ready to make a play. And while he has all of these positives, Perkins is viewed as a late Day 3 flyer in the draft or, more likely, an undrafted free agent that is quickly signed by a team on Saturday afternoon. This may perplex UVa fans that were wowed by Perkins on a weekly basis (and rightfully so).

While he was one of the most productive quarterbacks in UVa history and one of the better quarterbacks in the college game last year, that doesn’t mean he’s automatically a top NFL prospect. Throughout his career, Perkins was often compared to players like Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray, one of a select few to hit certain passing and rushing statistical thresholds in the same season. But as successful as Perkins was, those comparisons were always a bit of a stretch. While it’s true that Perkins and Murray were the only two quarterbacks in 2018 to throw for 2,500 yards and 25 touchdowns while also rushing for 900 yards, saying that isn’t nuanced enough. Perkins threw for 2,680 yards and rushed for 923; Murray threw for 4,300 yards and 42 touchdowns while rushing for 1,000. Perkins set a UVa record with 3,528 passing yards as a senior, and had a very good year. And while his tape is no doubt a fun watch to go along with that productivity, NFL teams will see him as a project at quarterback rather than a player like Murray who was viewed as a “can’t miss” prospect last year after showing an ability to hit every throw all over the field, including the difficult deep shots and routes run outside the numbers, where he put up obscene passing grades.

There is one ace-in-the-hole for Perkins heading into the draft, though, and it’s a player that was developed in the same offensive scheme by the same coaches: do-it-all Saints playmaker Taysom Hill.

After a productive but injury-plagued career at BYU, Taysom Hill went undrafted despite impressive measurables at his Pro Day, including a 4.44 40-yard dash. Hill was signed after the draft by the Green Bay Packers, who played him at quarterback in the preseason before he was eventually cut and signed by the New Orleans Saints. And it was there that Hill became one of the most unique weapons in the NFL and a potential blueprint for Perkins to make it. Hill has done everything for the Saints, from returning kicks to throwing and catching passes, lining up in a variety of roles in Sean Payton’s pass-heavy attack. In 42 career games for New Orleans, Hill has rushed 71 times for 410 yards with three touchdowns, has caught 25 passes for 265 yards and eight scores, and has thrown the ball 15 times, completing seven, for 169 yards including a 50-yard completion in the playoffs this January.

And for those efforts, the Saints placed a restricted free-agent tender on Hill this offseason, a contract that will earn Hill $4.6 million next year.

Could Perkins excel in the NFL in a swiss-army knife role like Hill, rather than strictly playing quarterback? It will likely come down to fit but Perkins has the profile to make it work. He has speed and athleticism, having proven himself to be dynamic as a runner in space. Perkins also has the pedigree, with his father, brother, and uncle all having played running back in the NFL. And he has the direct correlation to Hill, who came up under the same coaching staff, a connection that NFL teams will no doubt make. Granted, this is all assuming that Perkins is willing to take on a more unique role, like Hill did, rather than sticking at quarterback only.

If Perkins can find the right home, like Hill did, with an innovative offensive staff not unwilling to remove traditional roster constraints and play more positionless football, he could have a meaningful NFL career as a versatile chess piece on offense and perhaps even special teams. The chance that Perkins eventually becomes an NFL starting quarterback over the long haul are quite low, as they are with any prospect picked late in the draft or not picked at all. He may be able to stick around as a practice squad or backup option, but the opportunity to be used outside of the quarterback position should increase the amount of interest in Perkins and could help him find a niche and stick around the NFL for a long time.

While the odds aren’t necessarily in his favor to become an NFL starter, Virginia fans know that Perkins is capable of making things happen and betting against him usually doesn’t pay off.

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