USC's Nick Perry cemented himself into the first round discussion with an insane Combine workout, but there are still teams that have their concerns. The one-year wonder label gets thrown around to players like Perry that seemingly emerge from obscurity and decide to declare for the Draft.
Furthering these concerns is the fact that of all positions, pass rushers might be the most apt to bust. Predicting a person's future potential is always a risky business, but Perry has the raw athleticism and physical make up that will likely lead a team to roll the dice and hope he wasn't just a flash in the pan. Rob Rang projected the USC DE to the New England Patriots in his most recent mock, and here's what he said:
Nick Perry, DE, Southern California: Some teams are hesitant to grade Perry as a first-round prospect due to the fact that he elected to leave USC after just one highly productive season. He led the Pac-12 with 9.5 sacks in a breakout junior campaign. There are scouts who do believe he's just scratching the surface of his potential and others who like him best as a defensive end rather than an outside linebacker in the 3-4. For Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Perry would likely be asked to play both positions.
The pick makes sense - Perry is a bit of a tweener but if there's one team that can use a player like that, it's the Patriots, who run a hybrid defense that freely switches between 3-4 and 4-3 looks.
For more on the Trojans, head to Conquest Chronicles.