Calais Campbell DE 6'8 290 Miami Jr. 5.04

Campbell redshirted his first season in Coral Gables, but quickly jumped into the rotation as a redshirt freshmen. He finished the year with 35 tackles, 5.5 for loss, and 2.5 sacks on the year. As a sophomore last year, he broke out in a major way. In his first year as a starter, he had 84 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks on his way to All ACC honors. With all eyes on him, Campbell had a solid season, but did not live up to the hype. He finished the year with 50 tackles, 12.5 for loss, six sacks, an interception and even caught a pass on offense for five yards.

Campbell may be the latest freak at defensive end. He has a great frame, the room to get bigger, and excellent athleticism at that size. He is very tall, and could fill over 300 pounds once he’s done growing. He is a threat off the edge as a pass rusher because he is athletic and is absolutely massive. His size makes him a factor against the run game on the outside.

Campbell’s hype right now is based more off of potential than his on field production. He has proven to be a player who can get to the QB, but he needs to refine his skills. He gets by on his combination of athletic gifts to be successful, and that will not cut it in the NFL. While he is a good athlete, Campbell may lack the burst or closing speed to be a big time pass rusher if he doesn’t put in the work to improve.

Campbell entered the year with talk of him going in the Top Five, but he had a somewhat disappointing final season. That coupled with an average at best showing at the combine has caused him to slide into the second round area. He still has a lot of potential and should draw a lot of interest because of it.