Worth the Wait for Denzel Perryman

Denzel Perryman waited longer than expected to be drafted when the Chargers pounced on the highly regarded inside linebacker with the 48th overall selection.

He was excited to fly to America’s Finest City the next morning for his introductory press conference.  Unfortunately, the airlines cancelled his flight at the last minute. 

Still, whether it meant lasting until the second round or delaying his arrival in San Diego by one week, it’s all proven worth the wait as Perryman believes he’s landed in the ideal situation.

“This still hasn’t sunk in,” he said with a smile early Monday morning while surveying the scene at Chargers Park.  “Even though I have my locker now and all that good stuff, it still hasn’t hit me yet. But this feels good.  It feels right. My flight got cancelled and I was upset about that, but I’m here now and that is all that matters.”

The draft itself was a whirlwind for Perryman, who was regarded as one of the fiercest tacklers available in the draft.  He believes he’s a perfect fit for Defensive Coordinator John Pagano’s scheme, and was humbled by the immediate outpouring of support from his newest teammates.

 “It’s crazy how quickly they’ve (embraced me),” he said.  “Manti (Te’o) texted me right after I got drafted and said congratulations.  He told me if there was anything I ever needed to just let him know.  Corey Liuget has the same agent as me, so he texted me as well.  He told me the same thing how if I ever needed anything to let him know. Donald Butler tweeted at me and I tweeted him back, and so on.  So it’s really nice to know these guys are pretty much going to take me in as a little brother.  I can’t wait to get to work with them. It’s going to be great.  I get to play alongside a bunch of good guys.  It will be important to soak up knowledge from them and be a part of this (core) going forward.”

Perryman is also thankful for the strong fan response as well.

“It’s been all love.  A lot of love.  A lot of these fans have reached out to me, tweeted me and followed me.  Even things like picture edits they create, it’s got me amped up.  I’m excited to get rolling.”

Along with most of the rookie class, Perryman’s NFL career is now officially underway.  He’ll spend this week getting acclimated to the Chargers’ program and culminating with the highly anticipated rookie minicamp this weekend.

“I can’t wait to learn the NFL practice experience.  I want to start getting to know this playbook.  I’m looking forward to learning from these coaches. I’m looking forward to finding my way around.”


(chargers.com)