New York Giants: 2016 Rookies progress report

Paul Perkins

Paul Perkins might have missed OTAs last season, but I think it goes without saying that he has recovered fairly well.

With Rashad Jennings’ departure, head coach Ben McAdoo quickly named Paul Perkins the 2017 starting running back for the Giants. Perkins may not have scored any touchdowns last season for the Gmen, but he averaged 4.1 yards per carry and finished off the regular season with 112 carries for 456 yards. Sure, the stats aren’t nearly all that impressive, but running back coach Craig Johnson knew after last season that Perkins was something special, per NJ.com:

"“I think as he progressed last season you started seeing flashes that he needed to get more time on the field. We gave him more time on the field later and he showed a lot of the things that you’re looking for from a guy that can be a starter in the league.”"

Like Shepard, Perkins is humble and knows that there is much more work on his end to be done to not only better himself, but the overall team, per northjersey.com.

"“Every goal I’ve had, I have gone after, I’ve been able to compete and go get it. You want to be the best, and that doesn’t just go for me, but for our entire team – let’s do everything we can to make it happen.”"

This is Perkins’ time to shine — his year to take the starting running back role and make it his own. With an offensive line that supposedly has shown some improvement, an increased number of deep threats at the wide receiver position and additional blocking support in players brought in such as Rhett Ellison, Perkins will have more holes to barrel through and leave defenses in the dust.