A.T. Perry 2023 NFL Draft WR1

Give me A.T. Perry from Wake Forest over TCU’s Quentin Johnston any day of the week, and twice on Sundays.

Not that I ever thought highly of Johnston to begin with (I have a third-round grade on him), but I’m speaking to the mainstream narrative out there, who dares to suggest Johnston is WR1 in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Perry has better size, playing speed, athletic ability, and by far and away, better hands.

Thoughts of receivers CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, Al Toon, Keyshawn Johnson, and Dez Bryant have gone through my mind while watching Perry play.

Dynamic

The number one prerequisite for being on First Round Mock’s first-round value board is there has to be something dynamic about the prospect.

There has to be something that separates the prospect from the rest of the draft class.

My NFL mentor, a man with four rings, taught me, “Stick with the dynamic ones,” and that’s what I’m going to do. Perry has a dynamic playmaking look and feel to him. He has star power.

He’s a 6-foot-5, lean and muscular framed receiving machine with strong hands he uses to pluck the ball out of the air with authority.

Perry is all about business, but he also visibly likes to showoff when he makes a big play, like the time he made snow angels in the end zone after scoring a touchdown.

It reminded me of when Bryant took that bucket of popcorn and threw it into his face mask as a celebration.

Perry’s got that to him.

Physical

This Wake Forest receiver uses his hands to get rid of defensive backs like someone who’s using a fly swatter in the kitchen.

Perry is a handful, to begin with, add in his aggressive demeanor and it’s a lot, often too much to contend with.

Look for Perry to own the intermediate route level in the NFL.

Legit deep threat

One of the things that makes Perry such a force-to-be-reckoned with at the intermediate route level, is the fact he can pop the top off a defense.

Perry is a true No. 1 receiver who can stretch the field with his 4.48 (40-yard-dash) time.

He’s shown on game film time and time again he can open it up and get a step…or two…or three on corners deep, and it’s because of his true deep football playing speed, it opens things up for him to easily break off routes underneath and box out corners with his big frame.

Now I’ll say this as well. It’s not all unicorns and rainbows with Perry. He leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to high-pointing contested deep passes.

However, if the quarterback can get the ball accurately out in front of him, goodnight.

Game film drives the draft board

Perry is the only true first-round No. 1 “X (alpha receiver and often a team’s best receiver who lines up on the line of scrimmage). He’s the only one out of my first-round grades who has the pure size to line up in this spot.

Perry is First Round Mock’s WR1 headed into the 2023 NFL Draft.

#9 A.T. Perry 6-foot-5, 205 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Final 2023 NFL Draft Grade: First-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 4.1% (down from 4.4% on December 8) of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of January 29, 2023 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

First Round Mock Big Board: TBD

Level of competition: High

2022 game film reviewed: Clemson, FSU, Louisville, Boston College, and Vanderbilt (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2021 stats: 71 receptions (135 targets and 53% catch rate) 1,293 yards (18.2 avg.), 15 TD, 69-long

2022 stats: 81 receptions (129 targets and a 63% catch rate) 1,096 yards (13.5 avg.), 11 TD, 68-long

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Dominant receiver with speed, strong hands, good athletic ability, and can get a tad lazy and undisciplined with his route running once in a while. Inconsistent release, but has the ability to easily gain route leverage with quick feet and size. Crisp at breakpoints. Fast get up and go from stopped position. Bullies corners to achieve separation or can just plain put on the moves. Good short range. Excellent intermediate range. Drives corners off. Above average YAC. Inconsistent deep playmaker. Great adjustments to the ball. Can blow the doors off a secondary. Willing run blocker. Highly emotional showboat. Defensive side of the ball mentality. High ceiling.

Final words

This one is a difference-maker.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock.For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.