Joshua Perry, LB Ohio State: 2016 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Joshua Perry is one of the best tackling machines in college football. While he’s not as recognized as some of his other standout teammates, Perry has quietly positioned himself as a solid college linebacker who is looking to improve his stock for the upcoming NFL Draft. He is originally from Galena, Ohio where he attended Olentangy High School and was recruited to Ohio State as the No. 9 OLB according to Scout.com.

He has been seeing time on the field since his freshman season and became a starter on the defense in his true sophomore year, starting 10 out of 13 games. In both his junior and senior seasons, Perry was named to the All-Big 10 team as a second and first team player respectively. He finishes his Ohio State career with 291 total tackles, 160 solo tackles, 18 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks.

Strengths

Joshua Perry has the stats to say that he makes an impact on the field and when he’s engaged it’s easy for him to back up that notion. As a two-time all Big 10 selection and an impact player since his sophomore year, Perry has the on field experience to make the transition to an NFL field. Along with his experience, he has incredible size at 6’4 and 250 pounds, which can make him a problem for backs and receivers attempting to make a block on the large-sized linebacker.

Often times when Perry gets a hand on somebody they typically go down, he doesn’t have a lot of tape of missed or broken tackles which scouts and GMs will love. In 2014, he was able to accrue 73 solo tackles which ranks second only to first round pick Ryan Shazier.

In a game against Penn State he had 18 total tackles, 12 of which were on his own. When Perry gets going he can be hard to stop and a hassle for opposing offenses. While guys like Darron Lee and Joey Bosa have taken some of the press away from Joshua Perry, he has a real chance to improve himself at the upcoming Senior Bowl and through the off-season to give scouts a better idea of what he can bring to the table as a linebacker.

Weaknesses

While I appreciate the stats the Perry has accomplished I also recognize that many of these tackles come after the line of scrimmage. Perry isn’t much of an engaging linebacker even though this season saw him pass rushing more than previous seasons. He takes on a lot of blocks without much passion and aggression and often times when he’s not rushing the passer he’s either in or around the same area he was before the snap.

His motor seems to be very selective and there seems to be more jogging going on than the kind of effort you’d like to see from a starting linebacker. He’s able to get away with it in college because of his size and the benefit of his teammates but in the NFL he’s going to stick out from guys playing for their job.

Perry also doesn’t move very fast on the field, he could surprise everyone at the combine with a great time but his on field speed is suspect in comparison to the rest of his teammates. Perry’s biggest issue right now is being a fighter more than a football player, he has the size to make it in the NFL but as said before the game is 90% mental and only 10% physical.

Outlook

Joshua Perry has every tool in his back pocket to be a three down NFL linebacker but he’s going to have to fight for it in the NFL. Hopefully the challenge of playing at the highest level can bring it out of him. I like his game when his drive is up for the challenge but that needs to have more consistency.