Getty Parris Campbell #1 of the Indianapolis Colts
NFL safety and Cleveland Browns fan Tyvis Powell said his friend and former teammate Parris Campbell is open to coming to the Browns.
Tyvis Powell Said Parris Campbell Still Has That ‘Blazing’ Speed
Tyvis Powell and Parris Campbell played together at Ohio State and Campbell actually grew up in Akron, Ohio. Powell told the Dawgs Table podcast that they just spent a week together and Campbell is open to coming to the Browns because he’d love to return to Ohio. Campbell is currently one of the starting wide receivers for the Indianapolis Colts.
Powell is a known Browns fan, having grown up in Bedford, Ohio, which is a Cleveland suburb. In a 2017 interview with Cleveland.com, he said that it means more when you get to play for your hometown team.
“You grow up watching your hometown team and you get to finally become part of your hometown team, it’s a blessing, ” Powell said. “It doesn’t happen a lot and I’m going to be taking full advantage of this opportunity. It means more when it’s your hometown team. That saying, ‘It’s not personal, it’s business,’ well, it is personal and it is business. For me, it’s both.”
As such, the hosts of Dawgs Table were excited to get Powell’s take on the current Browns roster. He acknowledged they need another wide receiver and he hopes they target that need with their 2nd-round draft pick, but if they don’t, he thinks there are good options in free agency.
“If I’m addressing [the wide receiver need] through free agency, I’m getting a speedy guy. I gotta say Parris Campbell is a guy – obviously, I’m a little biased because I played with him at O-State,” said Powell. “But I just spent the whole week with him, he’s definitely open to the idea [of playing for the Browns].”
Powell went on to point out that Campbell isn’t “gonna break the bank,” and the Browns are currently overly the salary cap, so that’s a consideration with free agency. He also said Campbell played all 17 games in 2022 and he’s “still got that blazing 4.3 speed.”
“He’s still got that blazing 4.3 speed, so he a guy that you could throw him a bubble, he could make it a six- or seven-yard play. He could stretch the field, which is something that we need, and like I said, he still leaves things open so you could make other moves in free agency,” said Powell.
In the 2022 season, Campbell did play in all 17 games, amassing over 600 yards and three touchdowns, averaging almost 10 yards per reception. At the 2019 NFL Combine, he ran a 4.31 40-yard dash, which was the third fastest of the combine.
Powell Also Mentioned Marquise Goodwin & Weighed in on Mecole Hardman
In the same breath as talking about Campbell, Powell brought up another former teammate of his, this time one from his year with the San Francisco 49ers — Marquise Goodwin of the Seattle Seahawks, though Powell did acknowledge that the 32-year-old receiver is a little older than 25-year-old Campbell.
“[Goodwin is] a little up there in the age now, but he came off one of his most productive seasons in Seattle with Geno Smith and he looked really good,” said Powell. “An Olympian guy with Olympian speed, what better can you ask for?”
Goodwin was a United States Olympic team long jumper. At the 2012 Olympic team trials, he landed a jump of 8.33 meters (27.33 feet), which would have earned him the gold medal that summer at the London Olympics. Unfortunately, at the Olympics, he failed to qualify for the finals and finished in 10th place.
Finally, the Dawgs Table hosts asked Powell how he feels about Mecole Hardman, a 24-year-old wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs. Powell said he doesn’t think Hardman is the right fit.
“Mecole Hardman is good. He’s a guy who stretches the field as well, he’s got that speed,” said Powell, adding, “Mecole Hardman is a guy that has that speed. He would at least strike the fear in safeties or in these corners to make ’em back off so that can open things up for a DPJ or Amari Cooper, so just his presence out there would be really good. And like I said, he makes plays. I’m just don’t know — I’m not expecting him to be that missing piece. He’s not the missing piece to me.”