Another Micah Parsons? Eagles Saquon Barkley Throws Out Comparison

Jordan Mailata compared Jalyx Hunt to Micah Parsons early in training camp. On Monday, after Day 9 of training camp, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley brought up the name of the Cowboys’ disgruntled star pass rusher again.

He wasn’t comparing rookie first-round pick Jihaad Campbell to Parsons, but did bring up the name of his former Penn State teammate and good friend when asked about Campbell after Monday's training camp practice.

“Super raw, freaky athletic," said Barkley. "I think it's gonna be a problem for a lot of guys in this league when you go against him and block him. He's kinda built like Micah a little bit. As he grows and learns the game a little bit more, he'll be put in different spots.”

Campbell is a big (6-3, 235 pounds), athletic specimen, who is physical from whistle to whistle, perhaps too much so in practice. He’s already delivered tackles on Eagles stars Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley during 11-on-11 work.

“He's raw, can fly, aggressive, probably too aggressive in camp right now to be honest,” said Barkley. “Gotta teach him to stay away from the guys in red and knowing when to tag off and take shots. I'd rather have him be more aggressive than not. It's fun to go against him every single day and he asks a lot of questions.”

Campbell looks like a star in the making, and the Eagles seem to know it. He probably would have been a top-15 draft pick, but shoudler surgery in March and rumbling about knee issues saw him slide to the Eagles, who traded up one spot to take him 31st overall.

Now, the Eagles seem to be fast-tracking him, overloading his plate with inside linebacker knowledge and occasionally shifting to edge rusher during camp.

“It’s a fine line that we’re trying to manage,” said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. “We’re probably a little guilty of putting too much on his plate, but time’s coming, days are disappearing.”

Bring on the loaded plate, Cambell said.

“I got a passion for this sport,” he said. “Back in college, I had football and class. Now, football is just my job. I love to come out here and just put everything from the meetings and everything from walkthrough onto the field so I can perform at my best.”

He will be a linebacker first and an edge rusher second, until he can figure out the nuances of pass rush.

“He needs a lot of work at (being a pass rusher),” said Fangio. “Again, that’s going back to the previous question (about) adding things to his plate right now. And in defense of him he hadn’t been coached up enough to be on the edge and play the way we wanna play, so part of that is him being overloaded, part of that is us not getting him ready, which is a just a product of lack of time and lack of reps.”

Again, Campbell is up to the challenge.

“People say pressure is a privilege, and I guess you could say that,” he said. “Really, I’m just excited to come out here every day and work. That’s the biggest thing overall – work, work, work, because if you don’t do that, you don’t see a great outcome. Progress is not results.

“…It’s not difficult. I feel as though I’m versatile, so I really enjoy being that type of player. I’m just excited, like I said, to keep on working at my skill set, mentally and physically.”