After dominating the NFL combine with a 4.31 40-yard dash and a 40-inch vertical leap, Ohio State’s Parris Campbell has found himself rising up draft boards and appearing in some first-round mock drafts.
It’s not crazy to think Campbell could land among the top 32 picks. After all, the NFL loves speed. But it is amusing to see him listed as a “riser” after simply demonstrating to the scouts in Indy what Big Ten defenses have known about him for years. His combine performance did not come as a surprise to anyone who followed his career in Columbus.
Campbell’s strength is his speed—which, of course, isn’t usually a negative on the scouting report. It did, however, lead the Ohio State coaching staff to create an extremely specific and limited role for Campbell in the Buckeyes’ offense.
His simplistic role in the Ohio State passing game does not mean Campbell can’t take on more responsibilities in an NFL offense, however, it does limit what we know about him at this stage of his career. His scouting report requires a little more guess work than some of his more well-rounded peers.
Route Running
This is the area of Parris Campbell’s game that we just don’t know much about due this his role at Ohio State. Campbell did not run a full route tree, or really anything close to it.
According to Sports Info Solutions, Campbell was targeted just 12 times (with six receptions) on various versions of post, corner or go routes. That amounted to just 10.8 percent of his total targets in 2018.
Meanwhile, 50 of Campbell’s targets (45 receptions) came on the jet sweep pass, drag routes or screens. Those accounted for 45.0 percent of his total targets and 49.5 percent of his receptions.
Ohio State used Campbell on those shorter routes due to his speed, which makes him a dangerous weapon after the catch. And obviously his future NFL employer will use him in that role as well. However, no NFL offense features those shorter routes at nearly the rate Urban Meyer did at the college level. Campbell will have to develop his route tree, especially those routes which will allow him to break free downfield.
Campbell’s inexperience on intermediate and deep routes particularly shows up in a few specific situations. He shows inconsistent awareness versus zone coverage and he struggles to work back to the quarterback on broken plays. There’s no reason to think these should continue to be weaknesses in his game, but he’ll simply need more experience before he’s comfortable.
In terms of projecting his development in this area, there’s no reason Campbell can’t learn quickly. He’s a smooth athlete who should be capable refining his routes with more experience. And due to his speed, even without perfect technique defenders should bite on his fakes with some regularity due to their fear of his after-the-catch skills.
Take this route versus Michigan as an example. Campbell somewhat halfheartedly sells a slant, but the Michigan defensive back bites immediately on the inside route, opening up Campbell for the easy touchdown in the corner.
With more experience, Campbell should be able to add some double moves to his repertoire, making him a more dangerous deep threat.
Hands
This is another area where it’s difficult to fully evaluate Campbell, but signs point to it being a strength of his game.
Campbell consistently catches the ball away from the body with his hands, and is adept and quickly securing the ball so as to not lose momentum in his pursuit of yards after the catch.
According to Sports Info Solutions, Campbell had just five drops with 91 receptions in 2018 (5.2 percent drop rate). Receivers with a high percentage of receptions on short routes naturally have lower drop rates, but Campbell consistently displays the technique which makes it reasonable to assume he’ll maintain a strong catch rate even as his role evolves.
NFL Comparison: Dede Westbrook
Like Jaguars receiver Dede Westbrook, Parris Campbell’s game is all about speed, which works as both a positive and negative.
Both receivers are elite weapons after the catch, but their speed has forced teams to use them in such specific roles that they’ve never fully developed their skills throughout the route tree.
Projected NFL Role
Like Westbrook, Campbell will fit best as a No. 2 receiver early in his career, playing alongside a more well-rounded target who can complement him on intermediate routes and in the red zone. But both players have the potential to grow into larger roles if they’re able to refine their game.
Regardless of where he lands, he’ll continue to be used on screens and drag routes at high rate in order to allow him room to run after the catch. If he lands with a rebuilding team, he should also be used as a weapon downfield. This isn’t a strength of his right now, but he has the skill set for the role and will benefit from the experience.
Campbell also has the skill set to contribute as a weapon on special teams. He did not return kicks or punts in 2018, but he did average 30.4 yards per kickoff return during the 2016 and 2017 seasons .
