STRENGTHS
AT Perry reminds me of former Bengals TJ Houshmandzadeh, a 7th-round draft pick in the 2001 draft. AT is a long-striding receiver with excellent length and along with his straight-lined speed, this gives him an immediate advantage coming of the line of scrimmage against press coverages. AT is a tall receiver and lined up on the outside, has an advantage of body length and long arms against smaller corners. He has a solid catch radius and will go down to catch the low ball in spite of his 6’4” height. AT is a potential developmental impact receiver for the team that selects him.
CONCERNS
AT has a lot of work to do to be a starting receiver for the team that selects him. Most receivers coming out have to work on running better routes so that’s a given but for TJ, there are bigger issues. His blocking sucks. His mental toughness is lacking and that will affect his ability to catch the ball consistently in big down situations. The lack of mental toughness will also allow Defensive Backs who are physical with AT, to get into his head during a game and affect his consistency in all aspects of his game. Also, AT lacks special teams ability and this will affect his draft status unless he proves otherwise.
BOTTOM LINE: 4.00
Right now, AT is the type of receiver, the quarterback makes him, he doesn’t make the quarterback. He can be dangerous because of his ability to go deep and take the attention away (if paired up across) from a franchise receiver. If he can become stronger, a better blocker, and of course run better routes he can become as effective as TJ Houshmandzadeh was when he lined up across from a franchise receiver for the Bengals.
