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Yes and no. It's definitely as deep as any in terms of second-tier players, but not among the best in terms of top challengers. I don't think there's anyone of his generation - though Jung could have been the guy but chose not to - that compares to most past eras. Gorritepe had Graff/Runer, Iglar had Mehul, the Kaspars had Dudwadkar … there have also been times with no particularly worthy foil like when Mooljee was on top.
Perez is a worthy #1 to be sure and will have a reign worth remembering, probably similarly to Hart, but I wouldn't go further than that. Technically he's about as good as anyone's ever been, but he doesn't have the athleticism to match up with the best players in history.
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