"Jaguars have eyes for free agent Calais Campbell
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<div>"With teams now actively chasing down free agents, longtime
Cardinals pass rusher
Calais Campbell is drawing interest from an unexpected club in the AFC.
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"Keep an eye on the Jacksonville Jaguars here," NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport said during Tuesday's edition of
Free Agency Frenzy. "They do have a lot of money invested in that position. Of course, last year with
Malik Jackson, similar player, similar position, but I am told they are the team to watch here as far as where
Calais Campbell may end up."
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000...s-campbell
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So my question would be, if we sign Calais Campbell, what does that mean for our first pick in the draft? Does that eliminate Jonathan Allen or Solomon Thomas? Does it make Jamal Adams a more likely pick? I think it would.
It probably would eliminate a Dlineman in the first round but if I was the one pulling the trigger I'd still go Solomon Thomas (although I don't think he will be there at 4, but let's say he will).
Having a front of Thomas-Campbell-Jackson and Ngakoue on passing downs is just nasty, good luck to opposing offensive lines blocking them all.
And allows us to have a solid rotation with Fowler, Abry Jones, Day and who else will be there allowing the youngsters time to develop with less pressure.
Also if a guy (let's say Ngakoue who is the best DE we have right now) goes down with an injury you are not counting just on Fowler or a mid-late round pick to step up to rush from the outside.
Quote:It probably would eliminate a Dlineman in the first round but if I was the one pulling the trigger I'd still go Solomon Thomas (although I don't think he will be there at 4, but let's say he will).
Having a front of Thomas-Campbell-Jackson and Ngakoue on passing downs is just nasty, good luck to opposing offensive lines blocking them all.
And allows us to have a solid rotation with Fowler, Abry Jones, Day and who else will be there allowing the youngsters time to develop with less pressure.
Also if a guy (let's say Ngakoue who is the best DE we have right now) goes down with an injury you are not counting just on Fowler or a mid-late round pick to step up to rush from the outside.
It's great to have a great pass rush. It's also great to have great coverage. The two go hand in hand. Either one is at a disadvantage without the other. That's why, if we sign Campbell, I think it would be wise to use our top pick to fill one of the two holes at DB. All the pass rush in the world won't matter a bit if the QB just keeps dumping the ball off to a TE or RB, or throwing the ball short to a WR because our #2 CB can't play press coverage. We'd have this all-star defensive line, but who the hell is playing safety and #2 CB?
Quote:It's great to have a great pass rush. It's also great to have great coverage. The two go hand in hand. Either one is at a disadvantage without the other. That's why, if we sign Campbell, I think it would be wise to use our top pick to fill one of the two holes at DB. All the pass rush in the world won't matter a bit if the QB just keeps dumping the ball off to a TE or RB, or throwing the ball short to a WR because our #2 CB can't play press coverage. We'd have this all-star defensive line, but who the hell is playing safety and #2 CB?
I'm confident we get our #2 CB in FA (worst case I think that in FA we get Amukamara back) and it's a really deep draft concerning CB, you can get a quality one in the 2nd or maybe even 3rd round.
If that happens (we get one in FA) safety becomes the only hole in defense (for the starters, depth will be acquired through draft), it's still quite a deep draft for safety and we don't know what they'll do in this FA about that.
My dilemma in fact would only be choosing between Thomas and Adams, both players who I love. I just don't want us to take a RB at 4 and pass up on a player like Thomas because we'll (eventually) have Campbell.
A few days and we'll have a better understanding of what would be better to do in the draft with the holes left after FA
I'm extremely high on Campbell. Not only does he help the pass rush but is a pretty good all around lineman to add to an ascending group of Fowler, Ngakoue, and Jackson.
Providing we fill either the G spot and/or CB2 and/or SS in FA, we go into the draft with some flexibility..which is always nice.
Im on the Calais Campbell train. Hes the perfect player in a position of need right now. We missed out on a few top DE like JPP and Ingram who got franchised and we are going to probably miss out on the best pass rusher in the draft in Garrett with the rest of the pass rushers being ehhhh after that, though there are some good players like Jonathan Allen and Solomon Thomas. But the point is, we need someone who can get to the QB, I dont see many options at the moment. Campbell is a good player who can come in and make plays immediately, he has stayed healthy his entire career, he can russ the passer and stop the run and is on the right side of 30. We would overpay but im sure knowing the jags, we will make the contract team friendly so we can get out of it in a few seasons. If we get 2 seasons of production from him, its worth it.
Quote:Providing we fill either the G spot
Finding that can be tough.....or not tough....depends who you ask
Campbell is an elite defender and immediately would make oit defense much better.
When TC was GM/coach, they liked to sign veteran players on defense like Clyde Simmons, Carnell Lake, Hardy Nickerson and Marco Coleman.
Campbell would fit that mold.
Means that we probably aren't getting Solomon Thomas, either because we want to address the issue now or because he won't be there at 4. So probably Fournette or Adams.
Quote:Means that we probably aren't getting Solomon Thomas, either because we want to address the issue now or because he won't be there at 4. So probably Fournette or Adams.
My only counter to that would be that Campbell will be 31 when the season starts. And when TC was with the Giants, they stacked pass rushers.
When they took JPP, they still had Tuck and Umenyiora.
Quote:My only counter to that would be that Campbell will be 31 when the season starts. And when TC was with the Giants, they stacked pass rushers.
When they took JPP, they still had Tuck and Umenyiora.
If Thomas is there, I'm all for taking him, even if we did sign Campbell. I just don't see how it's possible at this point unless 49ers take Fournette and Bears take a QB.
A 30 year old D-Line, 30 over means on the decline, vacation time at Jax.
We'd be lucky for Thomas to fall.
Campbell will have a ton in pass rush.
Quote:My only counter to that would be that Campbell will be 31 when the season starts. And when TC was with the Giants, they stacked pass rushers.
When they took JPP, they still had Tuck and Umenyiora.
Tom wasn't involved in personnel decisions with the Giants so what they did has no bearing on what Tom will do.
Quote:Tom wasn't involved in personnel decisions with the Giants so what they did has no bearing on what Tom will do.
I know. It's about the philosophy, and what Coughlin might do. He won two Super Bowls with the Giants. A big piece of that was having a great pass rush.
according to the NFL Network, Campbell is at the Raiders Facilities this evening.