Should The Dallas Cowboys Draft Wide Receiver Breshad Perriman?

The 2015 NFL Draft is finally within sight, and a question I have pondered for the last day or so is whether or not the Dallas Cowboys should draft University of Central Florida wide receiver Breshad Perriman.

I’ll admit that I had little knowledge of Perriman up until about 24 hours ago. That’s about the time I caught wind of the fact that Perriman, previously thought to be a second through fourth round pick in most mock draft circles, stunned many NFL scouts this week with a blistering time in the 40-yard dash at his pro day.

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Perriman, who’s father Brett played for four NFL teams from 1988-1997, posted an unofficial time of 4.15 according to Yahoo Sports! NFL.com reports an unofficial time of 4.19.

According to me, using my cell phone’s stopwatch function while watching the video, he blazed at 4.20 – but who am I, right?

Perriman’s official times, electronically speaking, range from 4.22 all the way up to 4.27.

This is flat out moving for a wide receiver that stands a shade under 6-2 and weighs in at 212 pounds. In “Spaceballs” terms, this is nearing “ludicrous speed”.

Amidst the continued standoff between Dallas owner Jerry Jones and star wideout Dez Bryant, it has to be worth at least considering the possibility of adding Perriman if the opportunity presents itself.

Let’s say Bryant has another monster season, regardless of where the Cowboys might finish in the NFC East.

Coming off a franchise tag-guarantee of around $13 million dollars, will Dallas have the money Bryant is expecting about this time next year? Will the former Oklahoma State offensive weapon have a long-term deal in place by then?

These questions remain unanswered.

But here’s something to consider, and keep in mind that I’m not advising that the Cowboys make Perriman a first-round selection in the draft next month:

Even with Bryant locked up for the remainder of his career, Terrance Williams, Dallas’ rapidly rising number two receiver on the depth chart, is only a year away from entering a contract year in 2016. In other words, we can pretty much expect that Williams will become a modern-day version of former Cowboys receiver Alvin Harper, a great piece to an explosive passing game that the Cowboys simply couldn’t afford.

Dwayne Harris, the previous fourth receiver and special teams performer, has already left Dallas in favor of the New York Giants.

This leaves Bryant, possibly, and third wideout Cole Beasley for the foreseeable future.

Yes, Beasley is good at what he does playing in the slot and proved me, among others, wrong in that he actually belongs in the NFL. However, Beasley is what he is and will never be anything more than a slot receiver that moves the chains.

Having said that, the idea of adding a possible future secondary receiver with blazing speed might not be a bad idea. Perriman might even be capable of returning punts or kickoffs in order to justify getting the ball into his hands in every way possible, especially while there wouldn’t be an urgent need for him to get highly involved with the offense until at least ’16.

Keep in mind that Perriman’s name is just popping right now because he didn’t run at the NFL Scouting Combine last month. The receiver making the most headlines at that time was Kevin White, the wide receiver from West Virginia University who also surprised the scouting world with unexpected speed in the 40-yard dash.

White’s combine performance immediately changed mock drafts all over the universe and I figure that Perriman’s insane numbers from Orlando will have a similar impact – University of Alabama receiver Amari Cooper has to be pretty sick to his stomach over the last few weeks.

The question is whether or not Dallas would actually be interested in another wide receiver early in the draft. We didn’t think another offensive linemen selected in the first round could happen once again last year, did we?

Never say never.

Last week’s signing of defensive end Greg Hardy simply states that the Cowboys can once again select the best player available on their board in the first round – not likely to be Perriman either way you slice it.

However, should Perriman fall into the second round, he’s the type of player that could bring instant impact to an offense that, despite losing ’15 NFL rushing champion DeMarco Murray this offseason, still figures to be among the very best in the league.

Next: Dallas Cowboys: Multiple Mocks To Predict Picks

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