9 NFL Veterans Whose Jobs Are Safe From 2017 Rookies

​Breshad Perriman

The Baltimore Ravens were an absolute lock to select a few wide receivers during the draft.

With veteran Steve Smith retiring, possession man Kamar Aiken walking in free agency and Breshad Perriman still recovering from injury, there was a legitimate chance of breaking camp with a tackling dummy penciled in for the fifth wideout spot. The Ravens barely even sniffed the position in undrafted free agency, however, signing just one player of note in Quincy Adeboyejo out of Ole Miss.

That leaves 2015 first-round pick Perriman unchallenged in the starting outside wide receiver role opposite Mike Wallace. Perriman has always had the athletic upside a vertical passing team covets -- he averaged 20.84 yards per reception over his final two seasons in college -- but he cannot stay healthy.

Since his final year at school, he’s suffered hamstring injuries, multi-week calf strains, a partially-torn ACL, and a fully-torn PCL. He saw his first pro work last year, with 66 targets on the season and a 0.62 Reception NEP per target -- solidly below-average and bottom-third among the 92 receivers to see at least 50 targets in 2016. His role isn’t in question, but his production remains to be proven.