OWINGS MILLS, Md. — As the major new addition to the Baltimore Ravens’ defense, Calais Campbell needs to beat such offensive tackles as Jack Conklin and Alejandro Villanueva in the AFC North.
Campbell’s biggest battle, however, is against his age. At 33, Campbell is the second-oldest defensive lineman currently under contract. Only New York Jets nose tackle Steve McLendon is older at 34.
Whenever an NFL player reaches this point of his career, the concerns about performance increase along with the questions about retirement. Former Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs often called this time “the back nine” of his career.
Campbell wants to make sure he’s honest with himself and always goes back to study his film from the previous year. He believes he’s in his “ultimate prime,” and his numbers back it up.
Over the past two decades, Campbell is one of three players to total more than 200 tackles and 30 sacks with multiple touchdowns after the age of 30. The others were Julius Peppers and Jason Taylor.
“I can still do everything I want to do, and I can come away or do something in a game situation that nobody does,” Campbell said in a conference call with Baltimore media. “That’s when I’ll start worrying, when I can’t do what I want to do. But as of now, I did trim my body up to make sure that I can have control over my body and do what I want to do. I just felt like mentally, though, I’m so much more advanced than I have been in the past, and I think your prime is when you have the athleticism to take over a game, and the mentality to take over a game and the understanding of how to do it both at a high level. So, for me, my mindset has never been better; my understanding of the game and my matchup and how to win is at an all-time high, and my body can still do it.”
Campbell feels he’s much better than in his younger days. There have been improvements in his anticipation as well as his technique in terms of playing with a lower pad level. Sure, he was more athletic a decade ago, but he hasn’t lost his flexibility.
Critics will point to Campbell’s decline in sacks over the past three seasons, from 14.5 to 10.5 to 6.5. But Campbell had the NFL’s fourth-highest pass rush win rate last season among players double-teamed at least 200 times. Campbell’s 16.4% success rate ranked only behind Aaron Donald (23.5%), Grady Jarrett (21.3%) and Chris Jones (18.4%).
“I’m pretty confident that as long as I can take care of my body, I should be able to be dominant in the near future,” Campbell said. “… For me, I know the whole world tries to tell you that one day it’s going to stop, but I know there are guys who did it at a high level who were older than me, so it can be done.”
Campbell has already shown how much of an immediate impact he can make. In the year before signing Campbell from the Arizona Cardinals, the Jaguars ranked 19th with 33 sacks in 2016. In the first season with Campbell, Jacksonville produced the second-most sacks in the league with 55.
The Ravens, who traded a fifth-round pick for Campbell on March 15, are banking on Campbell elevating their pass-rush this season after managing 37 sacks in 2019.
Several players in Europe’s top-five domestic football leagues were enjoying breakthrough campaigns when play was halted, with no certainty domestic leagues and continental competitions will be completed. Here, we rank the 10 most noteworthy examples.
10. Mason Greenwood
- Club: Manchester United
- Age: 18
There are no guarantees that starring in Manchester United’s academy will ensure first-team escapades. Just ask David Healy, Ravel Morrison, and countless others. That said, striker Mason Greenwood looks the part. Skilled with both feet and a lethal finisher, Greenwood has bagged a dozen goals across four competitions while becoming the first United teen to score on five-plus occasions in a single European campaign.
9. Gabriel Martinelli
- Club: Arsenal
- Age: 18
This was unexpected. Gabriel Martinelli went from relative obscurity at Brazilian club Ituano to vying for a starting spot at Arsenal in the blink of an eye. Able to play out wide or as a center-forward, Martinelli is an adept scorer and tireless worker with or without the ball. He’s the youngest player to reach double digits in goals across all competitions for Arsenal since Nicolas Anelka. Fellow Gunners teen Bukayo Saka merits a mention, too.
8. Ansu Fati
- Club: Barcelona
- Age: 17
Versatile attacker Ansu Fati’s astonishing arrival came at precisely the right time for Barcelona. Then 16, Fati burst onto the scene in September as the club reeled during Lionel Messi’s absence. Fati’s winner at Inter Milan in November saw the Spaniard become the youngest-ever scorer in the Champions League, prompting Barcelona to table a new deal featuring a release clause that could balloon to €400 million when he turns 18.
7. Ferran Torres
- Club: Valencia
- Age: 20
Widely considered one of Spain’s brightest budding talents, Valencia star-in-waiting Ferran Torres’ third campaign with Los Che is proving to be his best. The astoundingly gifted and technically adept right-winger became Valencia’s youngest Champions League goalscorer after bagging one versus Lille in November. He’s also tops in La Liga among players 21-or-younger in successful dribbles (80) and assists (four), and Torres is second in key passes (21).
6. Josip Ilicic
- Club: Atalanta
- Age: 32
Ilicic is an outlier on this list due to his age, and he’s among a handful of Atalanta players enjoying a great campaign for Gian Piero Gasperini’s Champions League darlings. Like Duvan Zapata last season, Ilicic has been the focal point of La Dea’s relentless attack. Against Valencia, he became the fourth player to score a quartet in a knockout clash and the first to do it away from home. His 14 tallies in the calendar year are the best among Europe’s top five leagues. Ilicic has always been talented, but nobody saw this spectacular season coming.
5. Fede Valverde
- Club: Real Madrid
- Age: 21
Real Madrid were adjudged to have erred in not signing a midfielder to help cover for the aging duo of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. Well, Kroos has been fantastic, and Uruguayan Fede Valverde has become a high-energy revelation. Valverde has given Zinedine Zidane’s lot some much-needed moxie, contributing at both ends of the pitch while performing box-to-box duties. Suddenly, the capital city side’s midfield appears refreshed.
4. Alphonso Davies
- Club: Bayern Munich
- Age: 19
An assortment of ailments for Javi Martinez, Niklas Sule, and Lucas Hernandez forced David Alaba into a central defensive role, leaving a vacancy for Bayern Munich at left-back that Canadian teen Alphonso Davies has masterfully occupied. The winger-turned-defender was near-flawless during the Champions League against Tottenham while completing seven successful take-ons, the highest from any Bayern player in four years until he increased that number in a world-class display versus Chelsea. Davies is a megastar in the making.
3. Martin Odegaard
- Club: Real Sociedad
- Age: 21
Real Madrid property Martin Odegaard didn’t quite fulfill his potential during loan spells at Vitesse and Heerenveen, but he’s emerged this season at Real Sociedad. He’s third in La Liga in total key passes (54), second in key passes per match (2.3 while Lionel Messi is at 2.5), and the Norwegian is second behind only Messi in free-kick goals. Odegaard has been the engine driving his side’s shocking fourth-place standing.
2. Eduardo Camavinga
- Club: Rennes
- Age: 17
The youngest-ever player to make a first-team appearance for Rennes, Eduardo Camavinga is a composed and tireless worker who sits in front of the backline in the mold of a modern-day holding midfielder. Camavinga announced himself to the world with his awe-inspiring display during an August win over PSG, and the teenage talent leads all under-21 players in Europe’s top five leagues in duels won, tackles made, and fouls won.
1. Erling Haaland
- Club: Borussia Dortmund
- Age: 19
Not even Erling Haaland himself could have made this prediction. Following a €20-million move from Red Bull Salzburg in January, the Norwegian wunderkind registered a 20-minute treble as a sub during his Borussia Dortmund debut. He then scored nine more in BVB’s next seven outings, becoming the first teenager to record goals in five straight Champions League matches, and the second teen to bag 10 tallies in the competition. Utterly absurd stuff.
Honorable mentions: Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Reece James (Chelsea), Victor Osimhen (Lille), Dejan Kulusevski (Parma)
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