Colts’ Parris Campbell is one of NFL.com’s favorite picks of 2nd round

Jan 1, 2019; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Parris Campbell (21) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Washington Huskies in the first quarter in the 2019 Rose Bowl at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The 2019 NFL draft is slowly becoming ancient history, but that doesn’t mean reviews and recaps of team performances aren’t still flowing in.

One of the industry’s best analysts, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, recently published his three favorite pics from every round and he highlighted the Colts’ second-round pick, WR Parris Campbell, as one his favorites from Round 2.

“After finishing my study of his tape, I realized that it was not unreasonable to put a first-round grade on Campbell, even though he was unlikely to be picked that early,” Zierlein wrote. “He has great size, tremendous speed and offers value as a return man. The Colts can use him as both a field stretcher and a catch-and-run target near the line of scrimmage for Andrew Luck. He has the deep speed to force some safety focus away from T.Y. Hilton in that offense.”

It’s hard to argue with any of Zierlein’s analysis. Campbell was unfairly knocked throughout the draft process because he was viewed as a guy with a limited route tree and questionable hands, and while he certainly had more drops than desired from a highly coveted prospect, the whole route-running thing was blown way out of proportion. You can’t knock a guy for doing what he was asked to do by his college coaches, and in Campbell’s case, he was targeted quickly and at or near the line of scrimmage to get the ball in his hands and let him make a play.

And guess what? The Colts may ask him to do much of the same as a pro. And if he’s anywhere as lethal as he was at Ohio State, Indianapolis’ offense is going to be really, really hard to stop.

Bryan Perez

Bryan is the founder of Pro Football Draft. His work has been featured on The Draft Network, NBC Sports and USA Today. Former CFL scout.

Follow him on Twitter: @BryanPerezNFL