Koi Perich

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Perish the thought

In Shane Hallam's recent 7-round mock draft, safety Koi Perich is the 13th overall selection, just behind Charlie Becker. If the NFL Combine were a real Olympics, not just the underwear Olympics, Perich would be my bet to win the decathlon. He was a golden boy for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, returning kickoffs and punts, playing defense and sometimes even playing on offense as a WR or wildcat QB. He has a unique blend of size, strength, speed, jumping and coordination. In a different era of football maybe he could have been the next Paul Hornung. Perich will be playing for Oregon in 2026.

I did a PFSN draft simulation to try to get Perich for the Rams. I made a couple of trades to maneuver, the gist of it was trading away a 4th rounder in next year's draft in exchange for a future 6th rounder. That swap provided sufficient draft capital to acquire the following players:

Pick 70: TJ Moore, WR, Clemson. In Hallam's mock, Moore is a 1st round pick, 28th overall.
Pick 105: Bryant Wesco Jr., WR, Clemson. The Rams suddenly become the "Clemson Tigers of the West". He's the 11th overall pick in Hallam's mock, one spot ahead of Charlie Becker.
Pick 119: Koi Perich, S, Oregon. Mission accomplished. With the trades, I figured out how to get 3 players Shane Hallam mocked in the top 15 overall.
Pick 226: Jyaire Hill, CB, Michigan. We're now in the 7th round, but the fun isn't over. In Hallam's mock, Hill is the player taken immediately before the Rams pick in the 2nd round. We just got 4 players who all were off the board before the Rams made their initial selection in Hallam's mock.
Pick 236: KJ Duff, WR, Rutgers. He's 39th overall in Hallam's mock, an early 2nd round pick. Maybe 3 WRs is excessive, but we now have 5 players who all were taken in the top 2 rounds of Hallam's mock, including 3 players in the top half of the 1st round. Do you like that haul?

Maybe this simulation isn't overly realistic, but it was fun to sort out the strategy and get the pieces to fit together. In Hallam's mock, the only DB taken higher than Perich is Leonard Moore, the superstar CB from Notre Dame. Consider that Kyle Hamilton, the huge and very talented safety for the Ravens, was the 14th overall pick in the 2022 draft, so in this mock Perich is one slot ahead of Hamilton's draft position. Hamilton has made multiple All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams. Is Koi Perich the next Kyle Hamilton?

 

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Part 1: Background

Name, Age: Koi Perich, turns 21 in September of 2026. True junior, Minnesota 2024 and 2025, Oregon for 2026. Would be an early entrant for 2027 draft. Academic all-conference in 2025.

Size, estimated speed: Listed as 6'1'' tall and 200 pounds in 2024 and 2025. Draftbuzz estimated 4.54 seconds in 40. Draftscout 4.47 seconds in 40. Brian Bosarge 4.40 to 4.48 seconds in 40. ESPN HS recruiting profile listed him as 190 pounds. According to Minnesota's HC, Perich has a 4.4 second 40 time and a vertical jump of 40 inches. Reportedly could power clean 315 pounds in HS.

4-star recruit from a small town in MN. His dad, mom and his older brother all were college athletes. A football, basketball and track legend in HS. Left-handed. Per one source, the highest rated recruit ever signed by Minnesota. The top recruit in his state. As you might imagine for a future NFL player from a small town, his HS highlights are silly. The opponents are so tiny, it is comical, like a grown man playing against kids. He had some huge scoring games in basketball and was a state champ in the long jump. He ran 10.89 seconds in the 100 meters as a JR. His HS athletic exploits are similar to those of Cooper DeJean, except that Perich is a bigger athlete. Had a hamstring injury in track his SR year. Naturally, his dream would be to play for the Minnesota Vikings, his home state team.

On PFF's list of the best college players in 2024, he came in as the 6th best safety in the country and the 80th best at all positions. Had an 89 PFF grade as a true freshman. Allowed a 28.7 passer rating in coverage.

Was 10th best in FBS in kickoff return average in 2025. 18th best in punt return average in 2024. He's never had a return TD, so I'd speculate his numbers would be even better if we looked at median instead of average, because he was 2nd best in average KR in 2025 among players without a return TD and he was 8th best in PR average among players without a TD.

2025 was considered to be a down season for Perich where he regressed as a player. He had a nightmare game vs Cal with a series of costly mistakes that cost his team, including a muffed punt return, taking a sack on a trick play where he was going to throw the ball, a bad fair catch near his own end zone, and getting beaten in pass coverage. He missed a ton of tackles on the season. He only saw limited playing time on offense. Had a minor lower body injury in one of the games I watched but remained in the game.

2024 (13 games, 3 starts): 46 tackles, 28 solo, 2.5 TFLs, 5 INTs, 8 PD, 1 FF, 16-314 kick returns (19.6 ave), 20-188 punt returns (9.4 ave)
2025 (13 starts): 82 tackles, 39 solo, 3 TFLs, 1 INT, 3 PD, 1 FF, 5-9 rushing, 7-89 receiving, 19-499 kick returns (26.3 ave), 18-118 punt returns (6.6 ave)

Sam Teets 3rd round tier, 57 overall
Shane Hallam mock 1st round, 13th overall
Travis May mock draft 2nd round, 55
NFLdraftHQ mock draft not selected in first 3 rounds
Walterfootball mock draft not selected in first 2 rounds
Drafttek 44
NFLMDD sim 52
PFF big board not ranked in top 75
PFSN sim 115
DraftBuzz 4th round projection, 122. (+) Dynamic playmaker, man coverage in slot, downhill run stops, 6 career INTs, closing burst. (-) 23 missed tackles, allowed 455 receiving yards, unlikely to enter 2027 draft, only 1 INT in 2025, took a step back in 2025.
Draftscout Day 2 prospect
Brian Bosarge: (+) A potential 1st round safety. Rare ball-hawk traits, deep safety centerfield range, explosive returner, clutch. (-) Too aggressive to trigger, vulnerable to double moves, light frame, eye discipline.

 

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Part 2: Strengths

For better or worse, Perich's profile is similar to that of Troy Andersen, a linebacker drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2nd round of the 2022 draft, 58 overall, which possibly sets a precedent to try to guess where Perich might rank on NFL team draft boards. Andersen was a QB and S in HS, then played mostly offense, including QB, early in his career at Montana State. His last couple of seasons he transitioned to linebacker. He's very intelligent and did well in the classroom. As a rookie with the Falcons, Andersen had a miserable 40.2 PFF grade. He was very poor at pass coverage. His career has been marred by injuries since that point. Andersen was a raw developmental project when he entered the league and after 4 NFL seasons it still remains unclear whether he'll pan out, since he's rarely been healthy enough to play for the last 3 years. Nevertheless, I think that Andersen's story is an indicator that an NFL team likely will take Perich in the early rounds whenever he declares, whether it is the 2027 or the 2028 draft.

Elite athlete. If we took Brian Bosarge's best estimated Combine measurements, Perich would have had the 2nd best short shuttle time and the 2nd best 3-cone. No, I don't mean 2nd best among safeties, I mean the 2nd best among all players at any position, even all those small and quick CBs and WRs. If the coach isn't exaggerating and Perich really can run 4.4 and jump 40 inches in the vert, his athletic testing would be just as good as Dillon Thieneman, the safety he's replacing at Oregon. Thieneman was the 25th overall pick in the 2026 draft. Caleb Downs was the only safety drafted higher than Thieneman. If we just focus on the athletic testing, there are concrete and logical reasons why Perich could end up as a 1st round pick, perhaps even inside the top 20. He has a prototypical frame and size but he also has great athleticism and that combination is very difficult to find in the draft. It likely will push him up the board even if his game tape isn't as good as some of the other safety prospects.

Has played both in the slot and as a deep-lying safety. I think NFL teams will want him as a slot DB. What makes him particularly valuable in that role is I think he has the developmental upside to potentially cover the entire range of slot weapons, whether tall TEs, short and quick slot WRs and taller, more angular WRs or RBs. He has a rare mix of strength, length, long speed, agility and short area burst.

High energy player. Plays with urgency. Continued to compete even late in the game in blowout losses. Pumps up his teammates after they make a good play. Great motor, pursues hard. He's a very self-confident individual. Excellent hustle, effort and physicality on a run block as WR. His hand placement was wild and potential holding, but I love the energy and competitiveness even if the execution was very sloppy, then he shoves the CB after the whistle and could have been flagged for a personal foul. Maybe not smart but I like the attitude. He's not soft or timid.

Bona fide NFL speed and athleticism. Outstanding long speed to run down ball carriers in pursuit. Closing speed to pursue to the sideline and keep the ball carrier from turning the corner. Elite straight-line recovery speed to close the gap if he's a step behind in pass coverage. As a WR, he hurdled a CB after the catch, jumping high in the air with great form to tuck his legs close to his torso, like a track hurdler. In HS he made a vicious windmill dunk like he was an NBA player.

Ideal length and play strength to stack blocks at POA. Redirects to the RB off of blocks. Pad popper vs WR and small TE blocks, very good aggression and physicality. Do you hear that loud thumping noise reverberating through the stadium? That's Perich slamming into the lead RB blocker. On run blitz, full speed downhill collision, he destroys the blocking RB, as if he had hit the RB with a baseball bat.

Threatening speed when attacking off the edge on run blitzes.

Excellent effective tackling radius with short area closing burst long arms and strong hands. On TE screen pass, made nice swim move past OL then diving tackle to trip up the TE.

While he wasn't used too often in man coverage, when he did have to cover he showed good athleticism to stay with the opponent. Quick feet to mirror WR movements in release. Can flip his hips and run. Can cover both TEs and WRs from slot. Excellent length to challenge the catch point or just discourage the QB from attempting the pass. Explosive horizontal jumping ability to dive and deflect or intercept passes.

Ball hawk tools in zone coverage. Nice COD to nearly snag INT against intermediate post route. Had unbelievable one-handed INT in HS. Phenomenal vertical jumper. Ball skills and has had cameo appearances as a WR. Good hand eye coordination catching INTs or short passes as a WR.

Has Pro Bowl potential on special teams. Has the most diverse ST skillset of any player you could hope to find in a draft. Potential KR and PR even in the pros. Good long speed as a kick returner. Size and body mass of a RB, making it more difficult to tackle him on returns. Would be very good covering kicks and punts. Could block on punt and kick returns. Could try to block punts and FGs. Could be the personal protector on punts or a blocker on FGs and then be threat to become a runner or receiver on fake punts and fake FGs. He legitimately has the ceiling to become one of the best special teams players in the NFL. So, even if he completely faceplants as an NFL starter, his ST contributions by themselves would justify making him a Day 3 pick. It makes him a high floor prospect.

 

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Part 3: Weaknesses

At this point in his career, he's more of an athlete than a polished technician. Too raw, makes too many mistakes. As a deep safety, he's unreliable against both the pass and the run. Not a reliable last line of defense. He doesn't have elite instincts or quick anticipation or recognition of play development, resulting in him not being able to unlock his full athletic abilities.

In pass coverage, he's too focused on the QB and doesn't precisely adjust his positioning to fit the route development. Can get caught looking at the QB, not deep enough in relation to the deepest threat to his area of the zone. His effective range in deep coverage isn't going to match his Combine 40 time. His pedal isn't efficient and his positioning isn't consistent, contributing to him arriving late to the action.

Easily fooled by play action. He's in shallow zone, supposed to help carry the TE's short route over the middle of the field. Very simple play action fake, nothing tricky, Perich attacks forward with 3 steps, then once he realizes he's out of position he takes the wrong angle trying to recover. As the TE completes the catch, Perich is 5 yards away from the TE, so far away that the TE ends up being tackled by 2 other Gophers and Perich doesn't even get in for part of the tackle, never laying a finger on the TE. Inexcusable for there to be that much separation on a route directly in front of you in zone coverage, but that's what happens if you never focus on the TE and you look too long and too hard at the QB in the backfield.

Just a very basic RPO. Perich is at the LOS, over a TE, in man coverage. He takes one small step forward after the snap. That one step is all it takes, he's now lost leverage against the TE's flat route and S is in trail position. Doesn't matter how fast you run the 40, you cannot make very elementary mistakes like that in the NFL or you will repeatedly get burned in pass coverage.

Jet sweep to the WR. Perich is the deep safety. He triggers and aggressively charges forward towards the QB, completely vacating his deep position. As the WR turns the corner, S is hopelessly out of position, exactly the same as if the defense only had 10 players on the field on that play.

Takes bad angles in run support as the deep safety, then gets twisted up like a pretzel when the runner cuts back, leading to missed tackles and chunk plays. Can turn 10 yard runs into 50+ yard runs. Opens his hips too wide when deep, becomes a slow player in space, since he has to flip his hips to course correct back towards the RB. Not a natural and fluid mover as single-high safety.

Gap run. The LB inside of Perich is unblocked. The S is supposed to box his block and force the RB to cut inside into the LB. Perich doesn't feel the proper leverage vs the ball, goes to the wrong side of the block, so when the RB cuts outside, Perich has hung his own LB out to dry, effectively serving as an extra blocker who is in the LB's way, losing outside containment, resulting in a huge run by the RB.

Another play, Perich is filling the wrong gap in his run fit, he's not on the correct side of the CB in front of him. Gap run, the S should diagnose the run and attack downhill but Perich is slow to react, just passively waiting deep for the RB to get to him. Can also be a tick late reacting and attacking screen passes.

Poor footwork and lack of run instincts keep him from driving into the RB with downhill momentum for a more solid tackle. Becomes hesitant and timid in space when the runner has a 2-way go, breaking down too early, unsure of his footwork, resulting in passive and weak tackles that are more easily broken instead of being able to wrap up the runner with authority and conviction. He's much better as a run and chase tackler where he can hunt the ball in pursuit than he is as a containment tackler where the opponent is coming directly towards him.

Doesn't use his hands well to get by blocks in space, needs to learn how to seal the opponent so that he can cleanly redirect to the runner and not get pushed or knocked off balance as the blocker tries to recover.

He's too upright when scraping, needs to get his pad level down. This results in weak tackle attempts as his body isn't square or in a loaded position to tackle and drive through the RB.

Routinely makes very poor decisions with his tackling technique. Doesn't keep his head up with eyes on the target and wrap up with his arms. Too often he ducks his head and attempts a weak shoulder hit even when the situation allows for and demands a wrap up tackle or even a potential try for a forced fumble. If he continues to do this in the NFL, he might get concussions, neck, shoulder or back injuries.

Not a heavy tackler, tends to passively catch the RB, leaking yards.

Like Mark Barron, potentially caught between positions, without a clear fit. He's too small and too inconsistent a tackler to be a linebacker but has poor instincts to be a safety. The result could be a player who has a long NFL career, but only as a backup.

 

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Part 4: Draft Grade and Pro Comp

3rd round grade. Grant Delpit (2nd round 2020, 44th overall, Cleveland Browns, LSU).

Delpit had a very strong 2018 season for LSU, with 5 INTs, building a reputation as a ball hawk. He was widely projected as a 1st round prospect entering his final year in college. Instead, he struggled in 2019, only had one INT and his draft stock slipped. Experts said he took poor angles, missed too many tackles and had average range. Delpit was over 6'2'' tall, 213 pounds and ran 4.39 seconds in the 40 at his Pro Day.

Delpit tore his Achilles in practice and missed his entire rookie season with the Browns. He's been a long-term starter with the Browns. In 2023, Delpit was one of the highest graded safeties in the NFL, per PFF. He has 7 career INTs and per SISDatahub stats his career rate of broken or missed tackles is about average. Per SIS and PFF metrics, Delpit was an average starter in 2025.

I think Koi Perich has the developmental upside to be a very good NFL safety someday. He might become a Pro Bowl level player. At the moment, however, he's a developmental project. He needs plenty of coaching and more experience. He could have growing pains early on in his pro career and look pretty bad at times. Eventually, he has the potential to be a 3-down impact starter who is very good both against the run and against the pass. Before he earns a starting job, he also could be an outstanding special teams player. Plus, since he's versatile, you could rotate him in or use him as a subpackage DB to give him some playing time as he learns the ropes.

While I think that Shane Hallam is too high on Perich right now, I do think that Perich has the potential to climb into the 1st round tier if he has a huge 2026 season and demonstrates on tape that he can fix some of his mental and technique mistakes that held him back in 2025. Many of his flaws can be fixed with coaching. One of the issues with writing a draft profile about a potential early entrant a full year before they become draft eligible is the prospect naturally isn't going to look NFL ready. Perich has only started one season in college. So, in the big picture, I'm not overly concerned that he's inconsistent and makes some mistakes. We need to see him progress in the right direction and continue to add to his game. The upcoming 2026 season should give us a better idea about whether Perich is a blue chip draft prospect.