C.J. Perez was quietly one of the best players on the Philadelphia Stars at times. If you watched Perez in college, this wouldn’t have come as a surprise. He was named to the Rimington Award Watch List. This award recognizes the best center in all of Division 1 Football. Playing the unsung hero position of center, he found some recognition early in the season thanks to Pro Football Focus. 

C.J. Perez made their Highest Graded USFL Players list the first two weeks of the season and then wasn’t seen on the list again all season long. Coming out of college Perez was mostly overlooked by the NFL, but found a home with the USFL as a rookie in 2022.

He played well enough that the Stars moved into 2023 expecting him to start at center once again. He came into the season and immediately started showing why they had faith in him. Then he suffered a knee injury, that didn’t cause him to miss time, but I believe it affected his play enough that we didn’t see him atop PFF’s list the rest of the year. 

Given a full year to get healthy, Perez should again be expected to be one of the best players on the offense, and perhaps even the team. One thing Perez brings to the table is energy. There were several times over his career with the Stars where he left people laughing, but at the same time kept them engaged fans and teammates alike. 

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