Five weeks. That’s all it took.

Five weeks to forget our disdain for Breshad Perriman, the same disdain that has followed him from Baltimore to Cleveland and into Tampa Bay, at least until Week 13 of the 2019 season.

That’s when Perriman began to go off, catching five passes for 87 yards in a big win over Jacksonville, both of which were career highs for the fifth-year receiver. That was just the beginning, as the UCF product would go on to post 20 catches for 419 yards and five touchdowns over the final four weeks of the season, including three consecutive 100-yard performances to close out the year.

And these weren’t just any 100-yard games. Perriman made some legitimately insane, ESPN Top 10-type of catches late in 2019.

Breshad Perriman in Baltimore: Couldn’t catch a cold
Breshad Perriman in Tampa Bay: pic.twitter.com/a00A865f6G

— Gordon McGuinness (@PFF_Gordon) December 29, 2019

Jameis going deep to Breshad Perriman down the sideline! #GoBucs

📺: #ATLvsTB on FOX
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Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/HYJhHN7b2Y pic.twitter.com/riE3QRkiFx

— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2019

Fast forward to the 2020 offseason, and the Bucs are currently deciding Perriman’s future with the team. The reality is that until those last five games, the final two of which were sans Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Perriman had been a colossal disappointment in his NFL career, never eclipsing 500 yards or 3 touchdowns in a single season. Since being a first round pick of the Ravens in 2015, Perriman has started just 10 games and caught only 95 passes in five seasons, 36 of which came with Tampa this past season.

Is there enough here that the Bucs should trust Perriman, re-sign him and feel comfortable with him as their No. 3 wide receiver?

Here’s the reality with Perriman: talent has always been there, but he’s spent five years dropping passes, messing up assignments and struggling to master the nuances of the position enough to be on the field consistently. Yes, under new coaching it is possible he may have finally found himself. But I’m just not sure I wanna pay him $17.5M over the next two years to find out.

Bucs WR Breshad Perriman – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

That’s what Spotrac.com believes is a fair market value for Perriman this offseason, and if he plays like he did Weeks 13-17, they may be right. That outcome is certainly within the realm of possibility, but the larger sample size suggests to me that Perriman may play more like he did years one through four-and-a-half than he did late last season.

There is always an element of risk involved in free agency, and if Perriman wanted to come back for two years at around what the Bucs signed him for last year ($4 million), I’d be open to that. But this is a team with two of the league’s top ten receivers on the same team already, one of whom already has a huge contract and the other of whom is set for a massive pay day, perhaps even this offseason.

The Bucs can’t afford to be tying up significant money in a player who is a massive risk moving forward, especially at a position where there is no reason to be taking any chances. Still, the No. 3 wide receiver spot on the Bucs roster is a very important position, even if Godwin and Evans continue to stay mostly healthy moving forward.

Last year the Bucs were in 11 personnel (3 WRs) 10th most amongst NFL teams, a number that will assuredly increase if they take another step away from the tight end position this offseason (trading O.J. Howard, cutting Cameron Brate, etc.). Bruce Arians has always preferred to operate offenses with a deep stable of receivers, and I think we can expect to see the team add some capable options this offseason, especially at some point in the draft.

Bucs WR Justin Watson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs are holding out hope that Justin Watson and Scotty Miller can contribute more heavily this season, but neither player has blossomed yet, and the team would be unwise to put a ton of faith in their ability to play at a high level this season. It’s true the team doesn’t need a star at the position, but we are still talking about a player who will, hypothetically, be on the field for almost 70 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. They gotta get a guy who can really play and add something of value to the offense, even if they aren’t a world-beater.

We already know from Bruce Arians’ comments at the Combine that the Bucs (like everyone else) view this as a great wide receiver class, and I think the team has so few true holes that it wouldn’t surprise me to see them address the position with one of their first three picks. Of course, the value would need to be there as well, and it could be they’ll fall in love with someone they think will still be around in Round 4 too.

Using what I’ve deduced from Jason Licht’s draft history at the receiver position, if the team does address the position in the top 100, someone like USC’s Michael Pittman, Colorado’s Laviska Shenault or Arizona State’s Brandon Aiyuk make a lot of sense. Shenault and Aiyuk are post-catch monsters with the size and speed to create big plays with the ball in their hands. While Evans and Godwin can do it all, that part of their game wouldn’t be considered either All-Pro’s biggest strength.

Pittman is more in the mold of a poor man’s Evans, winning vertically despite not being a burner, using size, strong hands and terrific tracking skills to reel in catches outside his frame. His Combine was surprisingly good, but he does struggle to separate consistently on tape.

The more likely route is that the Bucs draft a receiver outside of the top 2-3 rounds, but probably not later than the fifth. If the team hasn’t drafted a receiver with one of their day one or day two selections, I’d be shocked if they don’t nab one in the fourth round. Some names to keep on your radar: Southern Mississippi’s Quez Watkins, Rhode Island’s Isaiah Coulter, Boise State’s John Hightower, Virginia’s Joe Reed and Washington State’s Dezmon Patton. I’ll have breakdowns on all of these guys coming up over the next few weeks.

Bucs director of college scouting Mike Biehl, GM Jason Licht and director of player personnel John Spytek – Photo by: PewterReport.com

The Bucs could opt to utilize free agency to address their wide receiver depth issues, but until we know how the next week unfolds with Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh, Carl Nassib, Jameis Winston and other quarterback options, it’s really hard to predict how much they’ll be willing or able to spend on another receiver.

That’s why, for now, I’m comfortable with the team letting Perriman walk at his projected cost, as the Bucs should be able to fill the void with a cheaper free agent or a draft pick or both. I think it’s an important role in the Tampa Bay offense that should not be taken lightly, I’m just not sure Perriman will ultimately provide Arians’ offense with more than a cheaper, younger, more unblemished option could in a deep 2020 wide receiver class.