Perrion Winfrey NFL Draft Overview
Position: Defensive tackle
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 290 pounds
School: University of Oklahoma
40 Yard Dash: 4.89
Perrion Winfrey 2022 NFL Draft Profile
Winfrey’s College Career
Winfrey’s NFL Draft journey began at Iowa Western Community College. He was a star and registered 55 tackles, 23 of them for loss, and 9.5 sacks. The future NFL defensive lineman was highly regarded as the best junior college prospect before joining the University of Oklahoma Sooners.
Winfrey made an impact for the Sooners immediately and started nine games. He only contributed 0.5 sacks in his first season at Oklahoma but made another 5.5 tackles for loss. His biggest moment of the 2020 season came against the University of Texas.
The defensive tackle secured his place as an Oklahoma legend in the Red River Rivalry in 2020. The rivalry game went back and forth before going into overtime. During the fourth overtime, Winfrey saw one of the Texas linemen breathing heavily, appearing to be fatigued. Winfrey audibled and moved positions to exploit the fatigued lineman, penetrating into the backfield on a field goal attempt. The star lineman blocked the field goal, securing the win for the Sooners in an epic Red River Rivalry.
Senior Season
Winfrey had a more productive senior season with 5.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. The Sooner defense was much-improved thanks in part to Winfrey’s ability to rush the passer. He also helped control the running game for the Sooners. Winfrey played a major part in an improved defense under Alex Grinch. The defensive tackle opted out of the bowl game after Lincoln Riley unexpectedly left for the University of Southern California. Despite skipping Oklahoma’s bowl game, Winfrey showed his potential at the Senior Bowl, solidifying his draft stock as a Day-2 prospect.
Strengths
- Quickness off the ball
- Lateral movement
- Explosiveness
- Nose for rushing the passer
Weaknesses
- Technique
- Hand placement; needs to work on engaging with hands rather than forearms
- Tendency to pop straight up
- Often focuses on penetration rather than maintaining gap integrity
- Averaged fewer than 40 snaps/game at Oklahoma
MOCK DRAFT: The #Vikings draft CB Derek Stingley Jr. and DT Perrion Winfrey in Mel Kiper's latest mock from ESPN. 🏈🏈🏈 pic.twitter.com/l1zlhL2jZH
— SKOR North (@SKORNorth) April 14, 2022
NFL Comparison: Darnell Dockett (though he is retired) or Maurice Hurst
Teams With Need at Position: Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati Bengals, Las Vegas Raiders
Prediction: Second round or third round
Oklahoma DL Perrion Winfrey is visiting the #Bengals today pic.twitter.com/WhQRBa38Sb
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) April 19, 2022
Bottom Line Perrion Winfrey
Winfrey is a great NFL prospect with the size, skill, and the motor to be an eventual starter. He will likely make an impact as a timely pass-rusher and possible closer during the offensive two-minute drill. The former Sooner made an immediate impact at Oklahoma and could do the same for NFL teams with a need for a defensive lineman.
Winfrey thrives when he is able to bull-rush rather than perform stunts. He also struggles with hand placement and overall technique, rendering him lost on the field on counter plays. His lack of experience, subpar technique and poor gap integrity can make him a liability during running plays. Winfrey is at his best during obvious passing plays where he can use his athleticism to beat defenders and penetrate into the backfield.
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