JACKSONVILLE – Tyson Campbell likes the feeling around TIAA Bank Field these days.
It's a different feeling than this time last season, and it's a fitting feeling given where Jaguars have been and where they want to go.
"I think we're a more hungry team," Campbell said.
Campbell, the Jaguars’ third-year cornerback, spoke to senior writer John Oehser for this week’s Week 1 2023 Organized Team Activities O-Zone Podcast. The No. 33 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Campbell discussed multiple topics, including his improvement in 2022 from his rookie season and why he expects to continue that ascension.
"I think each year I play in this league, the game definitely slows down for me," he said. "I'm able to catch on different stuff.
The film preparation you go through each year shows you what the offense is trying to achieve, what route receivers might run. Once the pace of the game slows down for you, it allows you to play more freely and faster."
He also discussed the Jaguars' mindset during the 2023 offseason after winning their first AFC South title since 2017 before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC Divisional Playoff.
"I remember after the Kansas City game, [Head Coach] Doug [Pederson] told us we really just set the standard," Campbell said. "We are a playoff team. That's how we feel. We're a playoff team. So, we get to the playoffs, a new season starts, then it's only up from there – just to know that we set the standard and to continue to live up to the standard and achieve more than what was achieved last year."
Added Campbell, "You have to work to win. Winning is a process. It's going to be the little things that matter, and one of those little things is team chemistry, just having a bunch of guys bond into one culture. That allows you to have success, because everybody is not only playing for one another, but playing for a purpose."
Campbell, too, discussed how he handles adversity – and how he overcame a difficult start to his rookie season to emerge as one of the Jaguars' top defensive players and one of the NFL's ascending young cornerbacks.
"When you come from South Florida, you just compete your whole life – and then I think it's just in me, just how I was raised," he said. "My parents taught me, 'Earn everything you get and never be satisfied.' That's my mindset. Never be satisfied. I'm a very ambitious person, so I'm always striving for greatness."
Listen to the entire O-Zone Podcast with Tyson Campbell below. To hear more episodes of the O-Zone Podcast, click HERE.
