Needing a high ceiling player over a solid floor

When Sean Payton was studying tape of Samaje Perine ahead of NFL free agency in March, he saw the kind of physicality and toughness in the veteran running back that could be central to the foundation he was building in his first season as the head coach of the Broncos.

The more Payton watched film of Perine’s time with the Cincinnati Bengals, the more he saw something else, too.

“You saw him on third down, might be third-and-6, the coverage is soft in the zone, and the ball gets thrown underneath. He’s able to get the first down and get forward,” Payton said. “Periodically, there’ll be certain routes that he’ll run. If you took the cut-up of his receptions, some would be primary within the framework of the pass route, and some would be underneath check-downs that the ball came to because the coverage got soft.”

Few Broncos players have been more central to Denver’s late-game magic the past two weeks than Perine. The 28-year-old had 47 yards on five touches during Denver’s game-winning drive in a 21-20 victory against the Vikings on Sunday, including 40 yards on four catches. That came after Perine had three catches for 35 yards across Denver’s final two scoring drives in the fourth quarter of a 24-22 win over the Bills in Week 10. Three of the seven catches Perine has made in the fourth quarters of the last two games have converted a third down, coming on the soft-coverage wins Payton envisioned as he built his free agency plan.

Perine has seemingly been the perfect crunch-time fit for a quarterback in Russell Wilson, who has built a decorated career by finding the gaps during critical fourth-quarter drives. There have been times when Wilson has scrambled and found Perine as something of a last resort, flipping the ball just before he gets taken down by a pass rusher. There have been other instances, like during Denver’s winning drive against the Vikings, in which Wilson has used defensive pressure to his advantage, stepping up and finding Perine as a quick first option after the snap. The two players have quickly built a read-and-react rapport that has been critical in key moments.

“I just feel like we are continuing to build up a trust,” said Perine, whose 326 receiving yards this season are already a career high for the seventh-year player and rank third among all NFL running backs. “You know, I’m going to be where I’m supposed to be and (Wilson) knows where I’m going to be so he can give me the ball.”

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57y6KtnmWSobyov46fmKeskajGbrLOqKubmZyherixxKRkampdlrG3tcKeZoCOpqbHrMOPo42bsV%2BNoZB%2Bs22PrJulnpdw