After spending the first six seasons of his career with the Chargers, linebacker Denzel Perryman has enjoyed a return to the team that drafted him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
The 10-year veteran has been manning the middle of the Bolts defense, which continues to rank among the league's best units past the halfway point of the season. He is tied for the second-most tackles (49) on the team and has started all nine games so far.
Chargers.com recently caught up with Perryman ahead of Week 11 on his return in the powder blue and the Bolts defense so far.
Here's our 1-on-1 conversation with Perryman:
Thank you for the time, Denzel. More than halfway through the season, how has it been coming back to the team you entered the NFL with?
"Being more than halfway through, the season is going pretty good. As far as being back on the team, it feels good. Back where it all started. Obviously, there's a lot of different faces with the coaches but as far as players, there's still some players here from before I left."
You guys as a defense have been playing at a high level. What's been clicking the most with the unit?
"I feel like us just clicking on the field. Having that camaraderie, that communication, being able to play our ball if somebody is out of their gap or not in the right zone. I think that's where we're clicking at [the most]. The communication and just the way [Chargers Defensive Coordinator] Jesse Minter is drawing our defense, I'm not going to say it's simple, but it makes it easy for us to not think too much and just go out there and just play."
We heard the excitement with Minter's defense all throughout camp. Do you feel like you guys have been playing like you expected?
"We kind of didn't really pay attention to others' expectations of us. It was more about us coming together and when we did come together, we can see what it looks like when we're playing on one accord and how good we could be. I would say we're playing up to our own expectations, playing as one every week and being consistent, finishing the games in all four quarters."
A lot of positions on defense have seen rotation due to injury, but guys continue to come in and produce at a high level. What goes into that as a unit?
"Just the preparation. It's always a next-man up mentality in this league, you never know what could happen. You're always one play away from getting in there. Just the attention to detail with everybody: starters, nonstarters, practice squad players, everybody. If we need someone to get in there, there would be no hesitation. Just the preparation and everybody locking in and taking focus."
Shifting to your position room, how would you describe the dynamic in that linebacker room?
"We just got playmakers in the room. It's not about age or anything. Like yeah, I got experience, I could bring experience to these guys, but there's techniques and stuff they can help me with. It's all about helping out one another and getting better collectively as a whole."
You also have linebackers coach NaVorro Bowman in the room. What's it been like with him as the position coach and what does he bring differently having played?
"Having him, that's a bonus to be honest with you. He sees the game the way that we see it, he obviously played the game. He explains the game a lot easier for us so we can go out there and play football."
Can you feel the fact he's played at a high level when he's coaching?
"When he's coaching us up, whether it's on the field, in the meeting room, he kind of gives that energy as if he was playing, if he had a green dot. On the field, he's able to physically demonstrate what it is he's looking for. Having a coach like that, it's really a blessing."
On the field, you have spent the most time with Daiyan Henley. How have you seen him progress as the season has gone along in what really is his first NFL starting experience?
"For him to change positions from offense to defense [in college] like that and play at the high level he is playing at, it's amazing to see. I told him this the other day, we were out having dinner somewhere, I was like, 'I'm like a proud big brother just watching you from OTAs up to now.' I told him to just stay consistent, keep football, football. Don't think too much and keep doing what you're doing."
Last question, but do you all as a defense talk at all about where you want to be at the end of the year?
"We just continue as much as we can. We're not trying to look forward to the future. Just taking it one week at a time, one day at a time, one game at a time."
