Harold Perkins Jr. Has One Major Drawback

First Round Mock’s NFL Draft Analyst Rajvir Bal has watched LSU’s Harold Perkins Jr. play and he has one major concern.

As we continue through the seasons for college football and the NFL, I took a look at LSU’s talented defender, Harold Perkins Jr.

He’s a junior linebacker for the Tigers and is widely considered a first-round talent in the 2025 NFL Draft (nflmockdraftdatabase.com).

Perkins plays off the edge and as a pass-coverage linebacker.

This versatility offers an interesting film evaluation.

Background

Perkins was a 5-star recruit out of high school where he played football as well as basketball (247Sports).

He had verbally committed to Texas A&M, but later de-committed and committed to LSU.

Here’s a look at his production:

2022: 

14 games, 72 tackles (39 solo), 13 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 2 passes defended, 1 interception, and 4 forced fumbles

2023: 

13 games, 75 tackles (43 solo), 13 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 5 passes defended, 1 interception, and 3 forced fumbles

Perkins is in the 35th percentile for height and the 6th percentile for weight (NFLDraftBuzz.com).

#4 Harold Perkins 6-foot-1, 225 pounds 
Rajvir Bal’s 2025 NFL Draft Grade: Late First-Round (I would select him)
Projected by 83.6% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of September 22, 2024 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2023 game film reviewed: Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi State, Florida, and Arkansas (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report

The Good

Perkins is extremely instinctual. He seems to have what coaches call “a nose for the football,” and he is always in on the action. This prospect plays through the whistle and rarely has low-effort moments. Great athleticism also shows up on tape. The fluidity in his hips jumped out as he was able to quickly change direction on the routes he was covering. In coverage, he does a great job firing his hands into offensive players, which slows their progress. Perkins tackles well out in space. He constantly was firing at his man and running his feet through contact. When he comes off the Edge he favors finesse pass rush moves over more traditional bull rushing.

The Bad

The glaring red flag for me on film is his playing speed at times. It doesn’t stem from a lack of effort, but more what seems like confusion. If players are in motion around him, you can see him internally question himself. Allowing simplistic college offenses to do this to him does not bode well for his NFL chances. When the offense speeds him up he often ends up in the wrong places or he unintentionally slows himself down. Though this seems like a small issue in college, it will become an infinitely larger detriment to his game in the big leagues.

Final thoughts for now

Perkins has a lot of traits NFL teams will love to see out of a potential franchise middle linebacker.

The concern is his football IQ could be detrimental to his career going forward and it’s something to keep a close eye on.

Rajvir Bal is a high school student from the Virginia area. He grew up a rabid Washington Redskins fan, attending more than 30 games, and has enjoyed the team’s high points and low points throughout his life. He plays varsity football and basketball. Rajvir has taken an interest in the NFL Draft since middle school when his team picked Montez Sweat and Dwayne Haskins in the first round. His favorite NFL player ever flips between Rob Gronkowski and Brett Favre, and his favorite athlete is LeBron James. He has been writing his own scouting reports since 2020, and is excited for the opportunities FirstRoundMock provides.