Malcolm
Perry.
Malcolm
Perry.
Navy· 5'9"· 186 lb· 4.63s 40
"Miami drafted Navy's record-setting option quarterback at No. 246 as a slot receiver, and he caught nine passes and a touchdown before leaving for the Marine Corps."Pre-draft read
Perry was a triple-option quarterback and slotback in Navy's offense, a 5-10, roughly 190-pounder who moved between positions before taking over at quarterback as a senior. His primary trait was elusiveness and speed with the ball: he pressed the edge, cut back against pursuit and ran for 2,017 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2019.
His secondary trait was versatility, with experience as a slotback catching 22 career passes for 470 yards. He projected as a slot receiver and returner in the NFL but had little experience running a full route tree. His signature was the 2019 season that set the FBS record for rushing yards by a quarterback.
Motion-heavy offense that moves a quick slot around the formation on jet sweeps, screens and returns.
Year 1: gadget slot and return candidate. Ceiling: rotational slot receiver and returner.
Traditional offense that asks its slot receiver to run a full route tree against press coverage from Day 1.
His value came from his quickness with the ball in space.
ARMY vs NAVY 2019 Highlights: Malcolm Perry has a historic performance to snap streak
His record-setting 2019 Army-Navy Game.
Malcolm Perry 2019 Navy Highlights
His AAC Offensive Player of the Year season.
Malcolm Perry Navy Highlights | 2017 Week 11 | 282 Yds, 4 TD
A breakout 2017 game.
Perry projected as a versatile athlete whose position change and military commitment made him a late-round slot receiver and return candidate. Evaluators liked his quickness, vision and toughness, but questioned how quickly a triple-option quarterback could learn to play receiver in the NFL.
He played four seasons at Navy, moving between slotback and quarterback before starting at quarterback full time as a senior. In 2019 he ran for 2,017 yards and 21 touchdowns, setting the FBS single-season rushing record for a quarterback, and threw for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns, earning AAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. His career totals were 4,359 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns, plus 22 catches for 470 yards. The flags were his size, raw route running and lack of experience catching the ball.
Most boards viewed him as a late-round developmental slot receiver. Miami took him at No. 246, betting on his athleticism and quickness in the slot.
- 01
Elusiveness
Pressed the edge and cut back against pursuit, setting the FBS quarterback rushing record with 2,017 yards in 2019.
- 02
Production
Ran for 4,359 yards and 40 touchdowns in his Navy career and earned AAC Offensive Player of the Year honors as a senior.
- 03
Versatility
Played both slotback and quarterback, catching 22 career passes for 470 yards while carrying the option offense.
- 04
Toughness
Carried the ball 295 times as a senior in a physical triple-option system, taking hits without losing production.
- 05
Big-game performer
Delivered a historic performance in the 2019 Army-Navy Game as Navy snapped its losing streak to Army.
- 01
Raw route running
Came from a triple-option offense and had little experience running a full route tree as a receiver.
- 02
Limited catching experience
Caught only 22 passes in college, leaving scouts little evidence of his hands against NFL coverage.
- 03
Size
At 5-10 and about 190 pounds he lacked the frame to beat press coverage or win contested catches in the slot.
- 04
Position change
Needed to learn receiver from scratch at the NFL level, a steep curve for a late-round developmental player.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.63sp50
- Vertical
- 36inp50
- Broad jump
- 122inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.12sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.31sp50
- Bench
- 10repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Navy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Navy | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Navy | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Navy | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1084 | 7 | 3 |
| Career | — | 41 | 0 | 0 | 1311 | 10 | 5 |
Season and career rushing and receiving from Sports-Reference; 2019 and career passing from StatMuse. StatMuse lists 4,360 career rushing yards versus 4,359 on Sports-Reference, which is used. Passing splits for 2017 and 2018 are left blank.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
The realized outcome: a brief slot receiver before military service.
Record-setting Navy quarterback who converted to receiver and returner.
College quarterback converted to a skill spot who stayed a fringe player.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Perry played for Miami as a rookie in 2020, catching nine passes for 92 yards and a touchdown as a slot receiver and gadget player. He joined New England in 2021, spent time on New Orleans' practice squad, and returned to the Patriots in the 2022 offseason. He then left football to serve as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.
In hindsight the pick returned about what a No. 246 selection usually does, with a rookie touchdown and a full year of contributions on offense. The raw route running and position change evaluators flagged limited how quickly he could develop, and his time in the league was brief. His true legacy is at Navy, where his record 2,017 rushing yards and 2019 Army-Navy performance made him one of the program's great quarterbacks before he chose to serve his country. Few seventh-round picks can claim an NFL touchdown, an FBS record and a commission as an officer.