Green Bay Packers: Grading the 2012 draft

Jan 18, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) carries the ball as Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Nick Perry (53) attempts the tackle during the third quarter in the NFC Championship Game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

First Round, No. 28 overall
Nick Perry, DE, USC

The Packers looked for defensive help with the 28th overall pick and settled on USC defensive end Nick Perry, who had logged 9½ sacks and 13 tackles for loss as a junior for the Trojans before declaring for the draft.

Green Bay converted Perry to outside linebacker and he has struggled to grab a starting role. In three seasons, Perry has started 15 games and played in 32 overall, with 68 tackles, nine sacks, three passes defensed and four forced fumbles.

He started NFC Championship at Seattle in January and had four tackles after picking up 1½ sacks against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoff.

Among 3-4 outside linebackers last season, Perry was ranked 31st in the NFL by Pro Football Focus (subscription required) with an overall grade of 0.7 on 367 snaps. Julius Peppers ranked seventh at 16.9 and Clay Matthews was 18th at 6.7, while Mike Neal was 46th—last—at a minus-13.6.

In 2013, Perry was 25th among 42 OLBs who played at least 25 percent of their team’s snaps with a minus-0.5 grade in 374 snaps.

Perry missed the final 10 games of the 2012 regular season, as well as the postseason, after undergoing wrist surgery having played 211 snaps and posting an overall grade of 0.0.

The Detroit native has shown flashes of being a solid pass rusher from the outside linebacker position, but there’s not been any consistency to his performance. Not what you’d hope for from a first-round pick, even a late one.

Grade: C-

Next: No. 51 overall