Colts WR Battle: Parris Campbell Edition

At this point, I’ve made room on the depth chart for Hilton, Funchess and Cain (with Cain presumably starting on the PUP list).

Parris Campbell

The Colts most luxurious addition to the WR room is a 21 year old from Akron, Ohio. Parris Campbell is the last WR who’s a lock to make the final roster. The last of the Colts’ three 2019 2nd round picks is a major factor in making this the most interesting position battle. Campbell had the fastest 40 time in Lucas Oil for all the draft’s pass catchers attending the combine. 4.33 second-speed provides the potential to open untapped parts of the Colt’s offense.

Urban Meyer lined him up primarily in the slot at Ohio State. His skills and athletic ability were commonly used for jet sweeps & tosses. These worked especially well against zone college defenses. Still, decent film exists showing him lining up outside and making contested catches. It’s only some tape and not a lot of tape, but this also points to the blue-chip athlete quickly finding a role in the offense. Adjusting to the games highest level holds the same challenge for every rookie. Its executing hard work daily to help string traits together that creates a productive receiver year in and year out. The high draft capital used creates higher expectations. With that comes an increased hope from the personnel department that he can quickly prove his tape is legit. Legitimate as in more than just a product of Big Ten defenses facing a talented Buckeyes team.

Apparently wearing out the jugs machine paid off for Campbell because his hands improved considerably his final year of school. A well-rounded personality accurately reflects his desire to show he’s a balanced receiver. Standing at 6’0 205lbs, I think he has the skillset of a more talented Stefon Diggs. Many analysts have compared him to the explosive Percy Harvin who was also an exciting player. If Harvin’s the ceiling for him, adding Hilton creates matchup nightmares that will let one of the two get open downfield. End result: big plays.

Campbell is sharing punt/kick return duties with Chester Rogers so far. It’ll be interesting to see if they try him out at spot in game action as the Colts similarly tried with Philip Dorsett. Regardless of his special teams input, Campbell is a lock to make the roster and may be the missing ingredient to bring this offense to another level. He played a role known to old school coaches like Rick Venturi as a “joker.” It’s a hybridization term used to describe a multipurpose player that lines up in the slot and H-back positions. Nyheim Hines would be the closest player comparison. Being that he adequately held down that spot, it may allow the Colts to move Campbell around more as a traditional receiver. Either way, it gives the offense more versatile players that have positional flexibility.