The current Giants regime didn’t draft Paul Perkins. It wasn’t around when he became the team’s starting running back two years ago or flashed potential as a rookie the season before.
So, consider Friday night, when Perkins amassed 65 yards of offense in a preseason victory over the Bears, the executives’ and coaching staff’s introduction to what he can do.
“I went out and showed them,” Perkins said following Sunday’s practice. “Talking is only going to take you so far. They want to see proof.”
After a poor opener in which Perkins fumbled and picked up just 9 yards on four carries, he bounced back. He ran six times for 35 yards and caught two passes for 30 yards, including a 26-yard reception when he took a short Daniel Jones pass and made it into much more.
“It was cool, it was definitely the most I’ve played in a while,” he said. “I feel I can always keep improving, keep getting my stamina better.
“It was big. Whenever you can have a couple of big runs and explosive plays, it’s always going to do wonders for your confidence. But you have to back it up the next week.”
A 2016 fifth-round pick out of UCLA, Perkins is battling Wayne Gallman Jr. and Rod Smith to be Saquon Barkley’s backup. Perkins didn’t play last year after suffering a pectoral injury and spent all season on the non-football injury list. Now Perkins is back, hoping to prove he belongs at the age of 24, either with the Giants or elsewhere.
“I feel like I can still do it. I’m not old or anything,” he said. “Going out there [on Friday] reminded me I can still play football at a high level. I still have a lot to learn, I’m still a student of the game, so that’s encouraging.”