Miami football alum Calais Campbell one of NFL’s 50 best late in his career

JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 23: Calais Campbell #93 of the Jacksonville Jaguars takes the field with his teammates at the start of their game against the Tennessee Titans during their game at TIAA Bank Field on September 23, 2018 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 23: Calais Campbell #93 of the Jacksonville Jaguars takes the field with his teammates at the start of their game against the Tennessee Titans during their game at TIAA Bank Field on September 23, 2018 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Miami football alum Calais Campbell still ranks as one of the NFL’s 50 best players according to Pro Football Focus. The media outlet placed Campbell as the 26th best player in their recent rankings.

Miami football alum Calais Campbell continues to rank as one of the NFL’s best pass rushers entering his 12th season in the NFL. In its current rankings of the top 50 players in the NFL, Pro Football Focus ranks Campbell as one of its 26th best players. Campbell is entering his third season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019.

Campbell joined the Jaguars for the 2017 season following nine years with the Arizona Cardinals. A four-year $80 million contract brought Campbell to the Jaguars. He proved worthy of the lofty deal in his first season. Campbell was named a consensus first-team all-pro and the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.

Campbell recorded 67 tackles, 14.5 sacks, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles in his inaugural season in Jacksonville. His productive 2017 season came after being named second-team all-pro with the Cardinals in 2014 and ’16. Campbell’s numbers nearly dipped across the board in 2018.

Campbell increased his tackle total to 72. His sack total fell to 10.5 with one forced fumble and two pass breakups. In spite of the dwindling numbers, Pro Football Focus still ranks Campbell among the NFL”s most productive pass rushers. PFF listed the NFL’s best players from 50-21. They have not released their top 20.

"26. EDGE CALAIS CAMPBELL, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS Campbell has earned an 85.0-plus run-defense grade in each of the past five seasons, all while playing at least 300 run-defense snaps every year. Most recently, he turned in a career-high 93.8 run-defense grade with Jacksonville in 2018, which was good for league-best among qualifying edge defenders.“Though Campbell’s pass-rush grades have fallen off since his career-best 89.2 pass-rush grade in 2016, he’s still proved more than capable of terrorizing quarterbacks in his own right. He’s still kept his pass-rush grade above 70.0 in each of the past three seasons, and he’s recorded at least 50 total pressures in five of the last six campaigns.From PFF’s Mike Johnson on Campbell’s epic 2018 season:“Over the latter stages of his 11-year NFL career, Campbell has blossomed into one of the very best players at his position, notably finishing among the top three in overall grade among his peers in each of the last three seasons.The Jaguars made the no-brainer decision to exercise their 2019 team option for Campbell in February, with plans of a contract extension in the future. Barring injury, expect more elite-level outings from Campbell next season with the likely possibility of one being the best performance at the edge position once again.”"

At 6’8 300 pounds Campbell is an imposing specimen on the defensive line. A second-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals after three seasons at Miami, Campbell’s play has exceeded his selection in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Talk of a contract extension at age 32 is impressive. Most NFL Careers are over by then.

Campbell has a lot to accomplish for serious consideration for the Hall of Fame. The two highest sack totals and two out of Campbell’s three highest tackle totals came in the last two seasons. Any mention of the best defensive linemen that are Miami football alums has to include Campbell. He has earned it over the past few seasons.

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