Someone on Reddit has gone through 71 different statistical categories and compiled the worst 5 guys per position for each one (with minimum stat qualifiers).
Jack Campbell - 2nd worst LB - passer rating when targeted
Jack Campbell - Worst overall LB - receiving yards per target
Benito Jones - 4th worst DT - PFF overall grade
Other interesting things:
None of Davenport, Reader, Davis, Robertson or Zeitler appear anywhere
Jamaal Williams features in 4 RB categories, and alongside D’Andre Swift in the “yards after contact” category
TJ Hockenson is the 5th worst TE for yards after the catch
Zach Ertz features in the top (bottom) 5 in four of the five TE categories
We know that Goff can’t scramble, Gibbs is in some good company with the worst RB pass blockers (McCaffrey, Kamara, Sanders and James Cook round out the top 5), Montgomery appearing is just a product of a small sample size as he has been solid in the pass game through his career, and Benito is now in Miami. So no major worries there.
The one thing that is concerning is Jack Campbell. Three separate stats show that he’s one of the worst LBs in the league in pass coverage. Obviously it was his rookie year, and the team had problems across the board in pass coverage last season, but it’s disappointing to see him rank among the absolute worst in the league.
To me Campbell was easily the most concerning of the rookies last year, but I’m also not really worried about it. He’ll never be a quick-twitch coverage blanket, but with his intellect and work ethic he’ll improve with every rep he sees. In a couple of years I expect him to be one of the best coverage LBs (maybe only average in straight-up man-to-man). He just needs to get through the reps.
Yep, he’s just gotta build a catalog of the amount of different ways the offense is screwing with his keys. Once he’s got that in his mental diary, he’ll be gold. I expect him to be one of the most difficult LBs to trick eventually.
I hope so…but Anzalone was good in coverage with the same pass rushers. Teams picked on Jack last year… he was a rookie though. Much better vs the run than the pass early in his career.
In all fairness his light came on fairly late in his career, in fact people here didn’t want him extended. Jack got better as the season progressed, I’m not worried.
" • Jack Campbell posts a career-high grade on Thanksgiving: He earned a 74.4 overall grade, buoyed by a 71.0 coverage grade. It was the first time this season that he looked consistently comfortable in coverage.**
Yea he will improve. Dude has an outstanding work ethic. NFL qb’s are on another level in terms of looking off targets and using their eyes to move defenders. Not many college qb’s can do that well. It takes time and experience to adjust as a defender
Hock being so low in yac sure seems to fit with my memories of him in Detroit.
Also add another vote for not concerned about Jack Campbell. When he was playing loose last year he looked fine.
Those are some of the best pass catching backs in the league. That tells me that however “pass blocking” is judged, it is flawed. Unless all of the best pass catching backs all decide not to pass block worth a damn.
It refers to when they have to pick up a pass rusher, which is always going to end badly for any RB who isn’t a power back. But they have to do it every now and then and if they can hold up the rusher for even half a second I would call that a win, whereas PFF will grade RBs like they do O-linemen.
In 2021 I stated Jack needed to return to school for this very reason. He wasn’t NFL ready yet. He did return to school and he showed steady improvements and entered the 2023 draft as a result.
I personally expected to see some struggles in pass defense and for him to be fairly solid in run defense as a rookie.
I felt he was a borderline first round talent in last years draft but mainly off upside. He has a very high ceiling.
He really did have some serious struggles in pass defense and I’m expecting big strides there. With better DT play I also expect to see him be even better in run defense. Needless to say I’m expecting some real growth.
