A.T. Perry: Breakdown of the Saints sixth round selection

It would not be a New Orleans Saints draft day without trades and that was prevalent on the final day of the 2023 NFL Draft. After several trades to start the day, the Saints front office made another move to pick up a sixth-round draft pick. Adam Trautman and the Saints seventh round selection went to the Denver Broncos for selection 195. The Saints then took wide receiver out of Wake Forest, A.T. Perry in the sixth round to fill a possible need for the team.

Saints sixth round breakdown of wide receiver A.T. Perry

The Saints could not wait until the seventh round for a receiver, so they made a big move up to take A.T. Perry from Wake Forest in the sixth round. Perry has all the measurables that teams want in receivers. He stands at a massive 6’4 and weighs in at 200 pounds. Even with this size, he ran an incredible 4.47 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine with a 35” vertical leap. This is the prototypical size that the Saints were hoping to find in this year’s draft. It has been noted that the team was looking for a possession type receiver who can challenge for the ball and they could have found one in Perry. Outside of Chris Olave, the Saints have too many questions at receiver to not address it during the draft. Perry will challenge for playtime immediately, especially if Michael Thomas injury concerns linger.

Perry was a three star recruit out of high school but did great work at Wake Forest. He saw the field sparingly his first two years of college but exploded in his final two. In these last two seasons, Perry played in 27 games, putting up nearly 2400 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns. Over this college career, Perry averaged over 15 yards a catch on 171 receptions. In his final season, Perry was a part of the All-ACC First Team for his play. Perry does need to work on several things though. His quickness and elusiveness will need to improve as well as catching the ball with his hands. This is what will separate him from being a starter or a role player. The red zone and scoring touchdowns is where the Saints need help though and Perry could fit that role.

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