Joshua Perry
Introduction
Joshua Perry (born April 26, 1994) is an American football linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State.
Early years
Perry attended Olentangy High School in Lewis Center, Ohio. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked among the top outside linebackers in his class. He committed to Ohio State University to play college football.
College career
Perry played in 10 games as a true freshman at Ohio State in 2012 and had five tackles. As a sophomore in 2013, he played in all 13 games and made 10 starts. For the season, he had 64 tackles and one sack, which was a safety. As a junior, Perry played in all 15 games and started 14, leading the team in tackles with 124. He also had three sacks. During the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship, he recorded six tackles.
Professional career
Coming out of Ohio State, Perry was projected by the majority of analysts to be a second to fourth round draft selection. He was rated the seventh best outside linebacker out of the 203 available by NFLDraftScout.com. Perry received positive reviews from scouts and analysts for his leadership, strength, productive tackling, conditioning, instincts, and anticipation. He was thought to be a limited playmaker who loses focus during blocks, with minimal man to man coverage skills, and below average sideline to sideline chase ability.
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4 in | 254 lb | 33¼ in | 10¼ in | 4.68 s | 1.64 s | 2.72 s | 4.35 s | 7.21 s | 33½ in | 10 ft 4 in | 20 reps | ||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine/Ohio State's Pro Day | |||||||||||||||||||
On April 30, 2016, Perry was drafted in the fourth round (102nd overall) by the San Diego Chargers.
On May 9, 2016, the San Diego Chargers signed Perry to a four-year, $2.95 million contract with a signing bonus of $614,084.
He entered training camp competing with Nick Dzubnar to be the backup right inside linebacker. Perry was named the third right inside linebacker behind veteran Denzel Perryman and Dzubnar to begin the regular season.
He made his professional regular season debut in the Chargers' season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. The following week, Perry made his first career solo tackle in a 38–14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. On October 2, 2016, he recorded three solo tackles in the Chargers' 35–34 loss to the New Orleans Saints. On January 1, 2017, Perry received his first career start against the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded a season-high six combined tackles in a 37-27 loss. He finished his rookie season with a total of 22 combined tackles in 15 games and one start.