In his second year with the Las Vegas Raiders, Denzel Perryman continued to come up big on defense. His strength against the run is an asset the Raiders cannot afford to lose. Moving forward, however, there are question marks surrounding Perryman’s future with the club. With decisions looming, let’s break down the good and the not-so-good of Perryman’s 2022 campaign.
How valuable is Denzel Perryman to the Raiders defense?
In a defense ranked bottom-seven in total, Perryman has been one of the lone bright spots. Perryman ended the 2022 season with 83 combined tackles. It’s a big notch down from his 154 total tackles in 2021, but Perryman played four fewer games and some other games due to injury. Perryman did, however, total more sacks, tackles for loss, quarterback hits, and interceptions in 2022. His two interceptions were good for a third of the Raiders total for the year.
According to Pro Football Focus, Perryman posted a 74.2 overall grade in 2022. His 80.5 grade in run defense shows how invaluable he can be to the Raiders defense. The Raiders’ run defense was the strongest point of a unit that left plenty to be desired. Perryman and the Raiders run-stopping unit were in the top 20 in rush yards allowed. It was one of the few times the Raiders have been in the top twenty for a positive reason on the defensive side of the ball.
Perryman’s performance in context…
This exchange between Mark Davis and Denzel Perryman pregame >>>@d_perryman52 literally has him jumping for joy ??#RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/puQQ0aPN7I
— Kevaney Martin (@KevaneyMartin) December 5, 2022
The Raiders were expected to have an improved linebacking core in 2022. The signings of Jayon Brown, Micah Kiser, and Kyler Fackrell were supposed to take the weight off of Perryman’s shoulders. Additionally, Divine Deablo, the second-year man out of Virginia Tech, didn’t take the expected leap forward. Due to this, plus a plethora of injuries and poor play, the Raiders were once again forced to rely on the veteran experience of Perryman.
In his expanded role, he saw exceedingly more coverage snaps as the year progressed. His PFF coverage grade jumped from 57.7 in 2021 to 61.4 in 2022. Perryman also posted five games above a grade of 70 in coverage, allowing a passer rating of 82.7 on the year. Although his pass rush grade took a tremendous dip in 2022 (from 77.8 in 2021 to 65.7 in 2022), he only had two games with ten or more snaps in that category. Between his improvement in coverage and his prominent run defense, Perryman was a piece the Raiders couldn’t be without.
What happens next?
With the conclusion of the 2022 season, Perryman is now an unrestricted free agent. While there were rumors surrounding contractual discussions, it seems the Raiders never invested their time in Perryman. This is considering the recent contracts given to other key in-house players such as Maxx Crosby and Hunter Renfrow. Perryman is 30 and can clearly still play at a high level. The Raiders have plenty of holes on their roster and will look to spread the money around, but Perryman has been a massive piece. If the Raiders do plan to move on from Perryman, they will need to find someone to replicate his role in stopping the run and dominating the middle of the field.
Perryman’s solid play has certainly earned him a nice future contract. Whether it’s a short-term deal to stay a Raider or a multi-year deal to play elsewhere, Denzel Perryman will get paid. Expect around $7.8–8.5 million per year.
*Top Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
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