An In-Depth Look at Ravens' Most Intriguing Selection: Breshad Perriman

It's time to meet the Baltimore Ravens' 2015 first-round draft pick, UCF wide receiver Breshad Perriman.

Drafted with the 26th overall pick, Perriman became the first receiver the Ravens spent a first-round pick on since Mark Clayton in 2005. 

This past season as a junior, Perriman caught 50 passes for 1,044 yards (20.9 avg) and nine touchdowns, all of which led the team. 

He later declared for the 2015 draft, finishing his college career with 115 receptions for 2,243 yards (19.5 avg) and 16 scores in three years.

Measurements

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 212 lbs

Arm Length: 32"

Hands: 9 ¼"

Perriman is a big receiver who does a good job of using his body to box out defenders for contested passes, making him an ideal red-zone target. 

For a receiver with his size to average almost 20 yards per catch over his career shows how much of a deep threat and big-play receiver Perriman was.

How Does He Fit with the Team?

Ironically, Baltimore drafted Perriman to replace its former big-play receiver in Torrey Smith. He left this offseason to sign with the San Francisco 49ers.

Smith was one of Baltimore's top offensive weapons over the past four seasons, catching 213 passes for 3,591 yards (16.9 avg) and a franchise-record 30 touchdowns.

That included a career-high 11 scores in 2014, and it will be up to Perriman to replace that production. Baltimore still has little depth at this position, not to mention no clear-cut No. 2 receiver heading into next season.

Steve Smith is the current No. 1. But he turns 36 in May, and this could be the year he finally wears down to the point that he's only a No. 3 or 4 wideout.

All of this is why Perriman could be in for as big of a rookie season as any rookie from this draft class. That is if he's able to translate what made him a dominant college receiver into the NFL. 

Scouting Report

What made Perriman special was his blazing speed that often left defenders embarrassed with how badly he beat them. 

That was evident at Perriman's pro day, where he recorded a 4.25 40-yard dash, per Ryan Gillespie of Central Florida Future. Had he ran that time at the scouting combine, it would have been the fastest of any receiver there. 

Having the kind of speed Perriman has to go with his size is what makes him special and why he'll make an impact on Baltimore's offense as a rookie. 

That's evident in Lance Zierlein's NFL.com profile on Perriman:

"

Height, weight and speed numbers that every team covets. Quick accelerator off the snap and destroys the cushion, forcing cornerbacks into "turn-and-run" mode. More sudden than most big receivers. Able to break routes off sharply or go from stop to start instantly. Consistent separation at top of his route.

Always gets over the top of cornerbacks on verticals.  Explosive leaper with timing and catch radius to make the difficult catches look easy.Shows off plus body control and ball tracking on deep ball. Athleticism and long speed for yards-after-catch production.

"

The problem with Perriman is his inability to run the full route tree very well. He specializes in running 9 routes straight from the line of scrimmage down the field.

If he wants to succeed in the NFL, though, Perriman will need to fine-tune how he runs the short and intermediate routes. 

Another issue Perriman has is his drops. According to Pro Football Focus' Dan McGuinness (via ESPN), Perriman dropped eight of the 58 catchable passes thrown to him in 2014. That gave giving him a drop rate of 13.79, which was the fourth-worst of any receiver in this draft class.

Perriman isn't shying away from the perceived weakness though. He admitted to The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec that lapses in focus would cause him to drop passes he had no business dropping. 

"At the end of the day, I know what I have to do and I know that I can catch," Perriman said. "I know they see that as a weakness, but I will use that as a motivation."

Summary

If Perriman can overcome his weaknesses and translate his strengths from college to the pros, he has the potential to be a special receiver. 

He also has a great opportunity to become the No. 1 or 2 option in Baltimore's passing offense next year. Perriman would also be part of a strong supporting class that will only give him more reason to succeed. 

From a dominant offensive line to having a Pro Bowl quarterback in Joe Flacco to having an offensive guru in Marc Trestman coordinating the offense, there's no excuse for Perriman not to put up big numbers as a rookie.