/>Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteStampede Bluean Indianapolis Colts communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsColtsShopAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Colts StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Colts NewsYahoo Colts Team PageYahoo Colts ReportYahoo Colts Depth ChartYahoo Colts TransactionsYahoo Colts PhotosShop About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Is Parris Campbell another Phillip Dorsett?New Jabaal Sheard Jersey ,106commentsI don’t think so. Here’s why.EDTShareTweetShareShareIs Parris Campbell another Phillip Dorsett?Photo by Harry How/Getty ImagesWhen the Colts selected wide receiver Parris Campbell in the second round, it seemed like a natural fit with the offense. By now, you’ve likely seen Reich’s reaction to the pick as shown on the Colts fantastic series, “With the Next Pick.” This was clearly a player they coveted, and one for whom Reich has a plan in mind. What you might have also been thinking about was the last time that the Colts took a blazing fast wide receiver. It is tough to completely let go of the selection of Phillip Dorsett in the 2015 draft. He was a stupidly fast receiver who gave us hope of a second T.Y. Hilton and the idea of that got us carried away with how incredible that might be, even as we lamented the defensive talent that was left on the board.You know how things went from there. Dorsett failed to live up to the hype, proving to be a bit of a one-trick pony, and never establishing himself as much beyond a guy who floated on the periphery of the team. Not what you are looking for in a first round pick, certainly. So, given that information, it would be understandable if you viewed Parris Campbell through a very cynical lens. How is Campbell going to work out any better than Dorsett did? In fact, how do these players differ at all?That’s what I wanted to dig into a little bit. These guys aren’t the same, and I want to help ease your mind a bit about Campbell’s potential, so let’s get right to it.SizePhoto by Justin K. Aller/Getty ImagesThe most noticeable difference between Dorsett and Campbell comes in the form of their significant size difference. Dorsett weighed in at 185lbs and stood 5’9” at his pro day. By comparison, Campbell stands 6’0” and weighed in at 205lbs. Dorsett’s arms measured 30 1⁄4 inches by comparison to Campbells which are 32 1⁄4 . In terms of sheer size difference, this is massive. Dorsett’s smaller stature impacted his ability to win at the catch point, as well as making it harder to beat press coverage or deal with physical corners. He often struggled to get open at all, got bullied at the line, and never developed the polished route running that would have helped negate his size disadvantage, the way T.Y. Hilton has done.Campbell’s larger size should aid him in some of the areas that caused Dorsett to struggle. His stature should keep him on a more equal footing with defensive backs when going for contested catches, and he should be less susceptible to being knocked around by physical cornerbacks than was Dorsett.SpeedPhoto by Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesPhillip Dorsett was certainly a fast player-- that much is not in doubt. However, it is interesting to note that despite being larger across the board, Campbell actually had the better 40-time. Dorsett clocked in at 4.33 at the combine, while Campbell clocked a 4.31. In terms of quickness, Campbell clocked a 4.03 20-yard shuttle, which is an excellent indicator that straight line speed is only a part of what makes him an exciting prospect. By comparison, Phillip Dorsett clocked a 4.11. Again, despite being the bigger guy, Campbell has the faster time in terms of short area quickness. Speed isn’t the end all, be all. If it was, Dorsett would have been a fine player. It is a trait Chris Ballard looked heavily for in this draft, but it is still just part of what makes a player capable of being great.StylePhoto by Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesOne of the areas Dorsett never managed to make any impact was as a player who could make something happen with the ball in his hands. He was billed coming out as a guy who could take the top off of a defense, and that was the area he was most effective. He was never asked to do a lot beyond running deep burners, and he never had the slippery way about him that T.Y. does, finding his way behind coverage seemingly unnoticed.Campbell, on the other hand has made his hay on the underneath routes and crossers, using his excellent acceleration and contact balance to rack up tons of yards after the catch and ending getting himself up stuck with the label of “gadget” player. While both players had limited route trees coming out and largely were hampered by their college usage, Dorsett’s skills didn’t match up with the kinds of things the Colts needed most from a receiver. Worse still Pierre Desir Color Rush Jersey , he wasn’t able to use those skills that were billed as his strong points nearly as effectively as the team had hoped. The Colts already have a player in Hilton who can take the top off a defense. They also have a solid big slot in the form of Devin Funchess. What they needed was a guy who can stretch the field sideline to sideline with his speed and explosiveness, and provide a home run threat with the ball in his hands. That is what Campbell brings. The Colts will no doubt attempt to develop him into a player who can be as dangerous down the sideline as he is across the middle, but he won’t be expected to do that from day one.Special TeamsPhoto by Michael Hickey/Getty ImagesIf you can’t remember how Phillip Dorsett fared as a return man, you can be forgiven. He didn’t do much of it. In his time with the Colts, despite his incredible speed, he managed to amass just 13 yards on kick and punt return duty. If you remembered anything about his return game, it is likely that in his debut against the Bills, he muffed two punts, the second of which was recovered by the Bills and resulted in a score. This is an area where Campbell should find some traction. In his junior year, the last year he had kick return duties, he averaged 36.8 yard per return. It is no surprise when you watch his tape. Again, crediting his contact balance and vision in conjunction with his speed, it comes as little surprise that he would excel here. Because of Dorsett’s struggles to make an impact on special teams, as well as the heightened expectation of being a first round pick, this was a huge weakness. Even if Campbell is limited in his usage on the offense for a while, he should have plenty of opportunity to be a difference maker on special teams. Front Office and Coaching StaffPhoto by Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesProbably the biggest difference between the two players comes in terms of the coaching. When Dorsett was drafted, it felt as though Grigson did so as a flex move to use in negotiations with T.Y. Hilton. We don’t know if the team had a better plan for him than this, or how involved the coaching staff was in the selection process, but given the toxic nature of things and all we know now, that seems unlikely.This front office and coaching staff are far different. We have seen first-hand that this group was on the same page in terms of Campbell. Ballard was picking a guy for whom Frank Reich and he had already discussed a use. This was a guy they liked, and who they felt adds character and dynamic ability to the team. Scheme fit and having a plan for a player aren’t everything, the player still has to perform well and work hard. However, getting the right player for the right system counts for a lot. ConclusionPhoto by Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesIt seems like Phillip Dorsett was a player selected because he was flashy, and because he gave Ryan Grigson leverage at the table with T.Y. Hilton in contract discussions. The GM did not have great chemistry with his coaching staff, and they did not have a cohesive plan for how to maximize his talents, or if they did, it was very poorly executed. The expectations were sky-high for Dorsett, and his smaller frame and inability to develop as a route runner or contribute on special teams critically hampered his progress.By comparison, Campbell is a bigger, faster, and better-suited player to what the Colts need now. Frank Reich was intimately involved in the process of zeroing in on him as an option, and Ballard has made sure they get a guy who is equal parts speed and substance. While it is ultimately up to Campbell to prove he has what it takes to be more, I think there is more than enough reason to believe we aren’t getting another Phillip Dorsett in Indy. Eric Ebron has been hands down the Colts’ best offseason acquisition. While they don’t have a ton of talent at wide receiver, they’ve found a gem at tight end, and Colts fans owe the Lions for letting him get out of the building. Ebron has really put together a great season so far and might even challenge Marvin Harrison’s franchise best 15 receiving touchdowns in a season. With all that success, I thought it made sense to take a look at those scores, if for no other reason than to appreciate how effective Eric Ebron has been this season. So let’s dive in!This first touchdown is the result of a variation on the smash concept, which is designed to make the cornerback decide between covering the short underneath route or helping on the deep corner. With Nyheim Hines setting up with a smoke route at the bottom of the screen https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Kemoko-Turay-Jersey , Luck has an outlet if he needs to dump off a pass. Hines has great speed and open field ability and Ebron is dragging the linebacker upfield with him as well as the safety who sees this is a matchup issue. The corner is watching Luck and a pass to Hines would have a huge cushion should he have needed to go that way. Unfortunately by the time Ebron reaches the numbers, he has a step on the linebacker and the safety also has to help cover Doyle who is running pretty wide open toward the post. This is excellent play design to stress the defense to its breaking point. Luck could probably have thrown a touchdown to Doyle, or a dump off to Hines for big yards after the catch. Instead, he drops a pretty pass to Ebron for a score.Here is another example of a pretty solid play design. Reich has T.Y. Hilton at the bottom of the screen and outside the numbers. Hilton runs a corner route and the backshoulder fade is definitely there if Luck wants to go for it. Ryan Grant and Chester Rogers are running crossing routes and it leaves Grant open and likely to score if Luck hits him just right.On the other side, Nyheim Hines is motioned to just outside of Ebron and sits down while Ebron releases, which means D.J. Swearinger is along with Ebron is on an island. That is a matchup you take 100 times out of 100, and Luck simply lets Ebron go up and make a good play on the ball. This play was nothing more or less than busted coverage. Ebron is lined up at the top of the screen outside the numbers and has a complete matchup over the guy the Texans put on him because鈥?they don’t put anyone on him. A miscommunication leaves him alone out there and by the time they realize their mistake, it is too late. Nothing fancy here, just good old fashion routes on air.The Patriots do a pretty good job of trying to knock Ebron off course here, getting a hit on him right at the line in an attempt to throw him off his rhythm. It just doesn’t matter. As soon as Luck sees that the corners on the outside are sticking to Pascal and Rogers, he knows he’s got Ebron in single coverage, and lets it go. By the time the ball arrives Ebron has easily beaten his man for the score.Here the Colts are facing 1st and goal from the 1 yard line, and they line up in their heavy package, certainly looking as though they’ll try to pound the ball right up the middle for a score. Rather than blocking though, Ebron releases completely untouched and the Patriots’ defense smothers Ryan Hewitt and Robert Turbin. Unfortunately, that leaves Luck a very easy throw and catch to Ebron who finds himself wide open in the end zone yet again.On this score the Colts are in the red zone on 2nd and 6. Both Ebron and Zach Pascal get upfield and open, forcing the safety to sit in limbo and decide who to cover. Luck could easily have thrown the ball to either man, but smartly chose the more reliable of the two and hits Ebron for the touchdown.On this play Luck has Ebron running a corner and he gets in position and is able to simply box out the defender and go up and get the ball. This is a nice route by Ebron and a great use of his size here. Either he catches the ball or the defender has to climb all over him and draw a pass interference penalty, either way, it is a win for the Colts. Here, though, he makes a really nice catch and controls the ball to the ground while getting both feet in. Okay, so I know Ebron had a rough time in Detroit, but why do people keep leaving him so wide open? Anyway, this play has already been credited by Doug Marrone as being a blown coverage by Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey sticks with T.Y. Hilton instead of dropping back with Ebron. As a result, there is nothing but green out in front of Ebron and he literally just has to catch the ball for a huge completion. He does more than that though, by finishing down the line and getting the ball in, he puts his mark on this blown coverage, making a really nice finish to an easy throw and catch.I’ve broken this play down previously on Stampede Blue, but this is just a beautiful call by Frank Reich. He uses misdirection regularly, except this time the ball goes to Ebron on the end around. It is sold well and will likely pay dividends in the future, sowing doubt in the minds of defenders as they attempt to quickly identify who to pursue. In the meantime, it meant yet another touchdown for Ebron.This is another example of totally messed up coverage. Telvin Smith plays Nyheim Hines here and totally releases Ebron with no one near him. They just don’t get a lot easier than this, but for some reason, teams have been giving them to him all season long. It has been a complete joy to watch Eric Ebron this season, and he has a lot of football left to play. What is really surprising is that he typically doesn’t get more than 50% of the offensive snaps. As far as red zone threats go, there are few who have been as successful as him this season. It will be interesting to see if the Colts continue to use him situationally or begin to expand his role in the offense given his success.