ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. Is In Love With Breshad Perriman

Well, it’s officially gone to another level — ESPN NFL Draft guru and legend Mel Kiper Jr. has taken such a liking to Central Florida wide receiver Breshad Perriman, he’s now among his top 10 players in this year’s draft class.

So, there you have it.

Perriman is a really intriguing athlete, as evidenced by his 4.26 second 40-yard dash at the UCF pro day to go with 18 bench press reps at 225 pounds, and a 36.5-inch vertical jump. At 6-foot-2, 212 pounds, those are numbers that are going to turn heads.

However, Perriman really struggled with drops at UCF. In fact, he had a 14 percent drop rate on passes thrown his direction. That’s pretty bad. There are physical tools with which to work, no question, and there’s also no question that Perriman can make plays…

But top 10?…

That’s a little out there, even for me.

I figured Perriman would warrant late first round consideration due to his athletic measurables, but never did I dream he might jump into the top 10 discussion with guys like Kevin White and Amari Cooper, even DeVante Parker if you want to throw another name in there.

I’ve even seen names like Phillip Dorsett start popping up in first round mock drafts of late, but Perriman’s name among the top 10 players is one of the most ‘out there’ pieces of analysis I’ve heard yet.

Obviously, Kiper is doing his job and putting to paper or verbalizing what he thinks based on what he’s seen. I just have a hard time thinking that there are only nine players in this draft that project better to the NFL than Breshad Perriman. It would be cool to see two UCF players selected in the top 10 in consecutive years, but that doesn’t make it right.

When all is said and done, perhaps Kiper Jr. will have the last laugh.

Next: Dante Fowler Jr. Scouting Report