USC defensive end Nick Perry has visited with the New England Patriots, Scout.com's Aaron Wilson reported Saturday.
Casserly: Two-round mock draft
Charley Casserly projects the first two rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft, with no quarterbacks coming off the board in Round 2. **More ...**
The Patriots hold the 27th and 31st overall picks in this month's NFL draft and could be in a position to take Perry, whose stock appears to be all over the board. The 6-foot-3, 271-pound junior is projecetd to go anywhere from the middle to the very bottom of the first round by NFL.com's draft experts.
While Charley Casserly has Perry rated the highest among all of NFL.com's draft projections, predicting that the New York Jets take him with the 16th overall pick, NFL Network's Charles Davis sees Perry falling all the way to the New York Giants with the last pick in the first round. NFL Network's Albert Breer and Chad Reuter see Perry going to the Green Bay Packers at No. 28 and the Detroit Lions at 23, respectively.
Perry is seen as a pass-rushing specialist and could fill the void left by Mark Anderson, who notched 10 sacks for the Patriots last season and signed with the Buffalo Bills in free agency.
Perry recorded 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery as a junior in 2011.