Paul Perkins in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: Bagumba, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Running back, UCLA, 2012–⁠15

Paul Perkins

Number
No. 24
Height
5′11″
Hometown
Queen Creek, AZ
Born
Nov 16, 1994, in Mesa, Arizona

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Paul Perkins played running back at UCLA (2012–⁠15). The New York Giants took Perkins in round 5, No. 149 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
1,572
Rushing yards, 2014 (UCLA, 10–⁠3)
Drafted
No. 149
Round 5, 2016 NFL Draft (New York Giants)

Career highs

219rushing yards, career highvs. BYU, 20153rushing touchdowns, career highat Arizona, 20152receiving touchdowns, career highat California, 2014

Rushing

Rushing yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2013*UCLA1345734.3645
2014UCLA2501,5726.3992
2015UCLA2371,3435.71482
Career6213,4885.62992

Receiving

SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2013*UCLA2429612.3044
2014UCLA262017.7249
2015UCLA302428.1131
Career807399.2349

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. * That team-season’s player lines are missing part of the team’s yards in our source, so these numbers may be short.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosHt
2012UCLA24RB
2013UCLA24RB
2014UCLA24RB
2015UCLA24RB5′11″

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsageAdj. rush
2013UCLA1510.0546th (n=226)0.078.217%-0.04
2014UCLA2670.2071st (n=253)0.1252.128%0.36
2015UCLA2780.2383rd (n=268)0.1264.428%0.29

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2015 UCLA 13 games, 1,343 rushing yards, 14 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Sep 5vs.VirginiaW 34–⁠16145905580
Sep 12atUNLVW 37–⁠31815122240
Sep 19vs.BYUW 24–⁠23262191–––
Sep 26atArizonaW 56–⁠30248531170
Oct 3vs.Arizona StateL 23–⁠38186311−30
Oct 15atStanfordL 35–⁠561410412160
Oct 22vs.CaliforniaW 40–⁠24117302130
Oct 31vs.ColoradoW 35–⁠311211814411
Nov 7atOregon StateW 41–⁠023891–––
Nov 14vs.Washington StateL 27–⁠312012104280
Nov 21atUtahW 17–⁠928981140
Nov 28atUSCL 21–⁠40179525360
Dec 26 ✦vs.NebraskaL 29–⁠3712681380
2014 UCLA 13 games, 1,572 rushing yards, 9 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Aug 30atVirginiaW 28–⁠20168001100
Sep 6vs.MemphisW 42–⁠3523982310
Sep 13vs.TexasW 20–⁠172412605690
Sep 25atArizona StateW 62–⁠271413701−10
Oct 4vs.UtahL 28–⁠3017991–––
Oct 11vs.OregonL 30–⁠422118703130
Oct 18atCaliforniaW 36–⁠34158604752
Oct 25atColoradoW 40–⁠371918022120
Nov 1vs.ArizonaW 17–⁠721781100
Nov 8atWashingtonW 44–⁠30199804190
Nov 22vs.USCW 38–⁠2024931–––
Nov 28vs.StanfordL 10–⁠31171160230
Jan 2 ✦vs.Kansas StateW 40–⁠35201942–––
2013 UCLA 13 games, 573 rushing yards, 6 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Aug 31vs.NevadaW 58–⁠205551–––
Sep 14atNebraskaW 41–⁠2152211200
Sep 21vs.New Mexico StateW 59–⁠1352304360
Oct 3atUtahW 34–⁠27169202490
Oct 12vs.CaliforniaW 37–⁠1014361390
Oct 19atStanfordL 10–⁠2441004190
Oct 26atOregonL 14–⁠4222930–––
Nov 2vs.ColoradoW 45–⁠234302280
Nov 9atArizonaW 31–⁠2616560150
Nov 15vs.WashingtonW 41–⁠31218602210
Nov 23vs.Arizona StateL 33–⁠3886011200
Nov 30atUSCW 35–⁠1463413790
Dec 31 ✦vs.Virginia TechW 42–⁠128311100

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2016
Height5′10⅜″
Weight208 lb
Arm length31⅝″
Hand size9″
40-yard dash4.54 s
10-yard split1.62 sW
Vertical jump32″
Broad jump10′4″
Bench press19 reps

Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

3 seasons, 25 games with a stat; latest team: Indianapolis Colts.

SeasonTeamGCarYdsTDRecRec yds
2016New York Giants14112456015162
2017New York Giants841900846
2019Detroit Lions31229019
NFL career25165575024217

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0), matched to him by his draft pick and college (Player ids: DynastyProcess (GPL-3.0)). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

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