New York Giants RB Paul Perkins has a golden opportunity heading into the 2017 season. The team is full invested in him as not only their lead back, but they believe he can be an all-around full-time workhorse. Let's take a look at his player profile from our Pre-Season Draft Guide...

26) Paul Perkins, NYG + – Perkins has swum his way to the top of a muddled Giants depth chart heading into the 2017 season. As a rookie in 2016, he never got the chance to fully prove what he could do. In 14 games (one start), he rushed 112 times for 456 yards and caught 15 passes for 162 yards. But, his next NFL touchdown will be his first NFL touchdown. Fantasy owners don’t line up for a guy who had 127 touches, but didn’t score any touchdowns. However, the needle is pointing up for him to make the next legitimate jump in his fantasy production. The Giants have been a muddled mess at running back since the end of the Tiki Barber/Brandon Jacobs era and there’s no reason to think it’s going to change any time soon, but Perkins is likely going to get the next shot to be the main man in the G-Men backfield. STAT FACT: For those looking to invest in Perkins, all they have to do is look at his final four games. In those four games, he rushed 62 times for 271 yards – a 4.4 yard average. In his first 10 games combined, he rushed 50 times for 185 yards – a 3.7 yard average. Update 7/28: Perkins is not only healthy, but enters camp as the clear full-time 3-down back, so he gets a slight bump in his projections. We like him a lot as a #3 fantasy RB in 2017.

The above player profile is taken straight from our guide. As you can see, we like Perkins, and you can also see he is ranked at #26 in our poll for PPR leagues. Just a week ago, we moved him up into the middle of the 5th Tier of fantasy RB rankings. While there are some downsides with Perkins, the potential is too good to pass up. That is why I have already personally drafted him in two fantasy football drafts this summer (SOFA - The Huddle Classic 12 PPR and FFPC Pros vs. Joes - Dual Flex PPR with 1.5 PPR for TEs) as my #3 fantasy RB. As stated in our player profile, the arrow is pointing up for Perkins, and the Giants will give him ample time to excel as their lead back. The big question is whether Perkins can take that opportunity and run with it (literally) in a positive direction. I firmly believe he can and will. That is why I've also listed him as an "obvious" Fantasy Sleeper in our Draft Guide this summer. Let's just say the Mastermind is putting his money where his mouth is in Perkins' case!

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