Following the 2022 season, Tyson Campbell looked like an ascending star ready to make the upper echelon of NFL cornerbacks. The Jacksonville Jaguars certainly felt that way, which is why they gave him a four-year extension worth $74.5 million. Unfortunately, his play the past two seasons has left much to be desired. But as tough as things have been, the former Georgia Bulldog believes the best is yet to come. One big reason is the arrival of defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.
While Campbell is coming off a pair of somewhat disappointing seasons, he believes that he'll be able come through in 2025.
"Like, you know, the sky's the limit for me, Campbell told Hays Carlyon of 1010 XL after Day 1 of Jaguars training camp. "I'm just scratching the surface of my potential, and I'm just me being on the field is what's gonna allow me to reach my potential. So that's my focus."
During the exchange, Campbell says that Campanile's system will help him hit his stride, pointing out that the new scheme is diverse.
"Just the diversity of it, you know, playing different coverages, having different schemes, not being one dimensional. Main thing I'm excited about, just keeping the office on their toes and allowing me to be, you know, me."
That may have been a subtle jab at former defensive coordinator Ryan Neilsen, who failed to get the most out of his players and rubbed them the wrong way with his arrogant demeanor almost right away.
Still, there's only so much blame you can assign to the coaches. At one point, players need to deliver, and Campbell hasn't the past two years.
Tyson Campbell will have a fresh start under Jaguars DC Anthony Campanile
When you think of the Jags' best players. Tyson Campbell doesn't come to mind often, and rightly so. He allowed completion rates of 70.0 and 67.3 percent in 2023 and 2024. Similarly, he's logged just one interception while giving up 10 receiving touchdowns.
Then again, the Plantation, Florida native proved in 2022 that he can play at a high level, giving up a 60.9 percent rate while surrendering less than 10.0 yards per completion. On top of that, his three picks were tied for the most on the Jags that year.
Simply put, the talent is there, so why wasn't Campbell able to build off his promising 2022 season? A nagging hamstring injury hindered his performance and limited him to 23 games the past two years. Working in his favor is that he's now fully healthy, so he should have no trouble bouncing back if he avoids the injury bugs. Having Anthony Campanile as his defensive coordinator should also help.
After all, Campbell didn't outright call Ryan Nielsen out, but if he says that the new scheme isn't one-dimensional and gets the most out of him, it's because the previous one didn't. On the other hand, the Jags have a more crowded room after the arrival of Jourdan Lewis and Travis Hunter in the offseason. That means that he'll probably need to prove himself to the new regime.
Ultimately, though, Tyson Campbell has shown that he can play at a high level, but it's been a while since he did. While he isn't under pressure to deliver, he cannot afford to slip either, so he'll need to show out in 2025.