- Can Tyson Campbell consistently be the cornerback Jacksonville is paying him to be?
The $19.125 million average annual value of Campbell’s contract extension is the seventh-highest among NFL cornerbacks. So is his $53.4 million in fully guaranteed money.
As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted Tuesday, Campbell is the highest-paid cornerback to have not yet earned a Pro Bowl nod in NFL history.
There is an argument to be had whether Campbell should have made the Pro Bowl in 2022, the season Jacksonville would argue it based its decision to pay him on.
After a flashy rookie season when he intercepted two passes and defended 10, Campbell was one of the NFL’s most dominant cornerbacks two years ago. His 15 defended passes ranked No. 6 in the league and his 54.2% allowed completion percentage ranked No. 32 among 270 qualifying coverage defenders.
While bothersome during the season, Campbell’s injuries last year weren’t major or significant enough to prevent Jacksonville from locking him in long-term.
Campbell missed four games between Weeks 7-12 with a nagging hurt hamstring, and a quadriceps injury suffered during his Week 13 return to the lineup sidelined him for Weeks 14-15.
At full health, Jacksonville views Campbell as one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks. Paid like one now and healed from his injuries, all eyes are on Campbell to see if he can prove his worth in 2024.
The Jaguars are confident he will.
“He’s a pro’s pro. He’s locked in, he’s focused, has tremendous talent,” Jaguars assistant cornerbacks coach Cory Robinson described Campbell in June.
“His floor is really, really high. So I think the upside, the ceiling is gonna be pretty special for that player. He’s been everything that we could ask for at this point.”
- Does Ronald Darby have a full season as a starter in his tank?
While Darby has been a consistently stellar coverage defender when healthy, his inconsistent availability provides cause for concern.
Darby’s 2021 shoulder injury was a one-off, but he has torn the ACL in his right knee twice since 2018 and strained his right hamstring twice since 2019. He also dislocated his right ankle in 2017, which sidelined him for eight games.
The fact he was statistically the league’s best cover player at this stage in his career, operating on a right leg that has been through the wringer over the years, is pretty remarkable.
Jacksonville is gambling by making Darby a full-time starter with largely unproven…
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