The New York Giants went into free agency in dire need of upgrading their offensive arsenal. They had secured both quarterback Daniel Jones for the next four years and kept running back Saquon Barkley in the fold via the franchise tag but more was needed.
General manager Joe Schoen re-signed wide receivers Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard and made a blockbuster trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to obtain tight end Darren Waller, but even that wasn’t enough.
Schoen went out and signed wideout Parris Campbell, a former second-round draft pick out of Ohio State, to a one-year, “prove-it” deal which could be a ‘boom or bust’ proposition.
Campbell has had a history of injury problems since being selected 59th overall in the 2019 NFL draft. 2022 was the first season he managed to stay healthy for the entire year, reeling in 63 of 91 targets for 623 yards and three touchdowns.
Campbell could provide the Giants with much-needed explosiveness to their receiving corps and could have signed on with several teams but chose the Giants.
“It was nerve-wracking, a lot of long days just on the phone with my agent, talking to teams. It was a fairly long process just because the days felt so long. (I’m) excited to be with the Giants, excited for this opportunity, and I’m grateful and blessed to be in the spot I’m in,” Campbell told hosts Bruce Murray and Kirk Morrison on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Again, it was the selling power of Giants head coach Brian Daboll that sealed the deal.
“Before I even agreed with them, I got a call from (Daboll), it was probably a 20-minute conversation,” Campbell said. “We were just talking about my game, what the organization is like, what they’re building, and that right there it meant a lot to me, you know? How many head coaches are reaching out and calling guys and spending this time to talk about their team and talk about what they can possibly see you bringing to the team and to the offense, man? So that was a big step for me, just getting comfortable and kind of leaning towards the Giants.”
Campbell might be on the verge of a more pronounced breakout in 2023. The Giants are betting on it.
H/T: Big Blue View
