Chargers 90-in-90: CB Tevaughn Campbell

Campbell was born in Scarborough, Ontario and as a talented prep, he earned the opportunity to join both the football and track & field teams at the University of Regina. Campbell actually spent a combined six years at Regina, where he played football from 2011-2014 on top of his track career that lasted a couple years longer (2011-2017). I’m not entirely sure how that worked, but he did it.

The Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), later named U Sports, is the governing body over Canadian sports similar to the NCAA. As far as football goes, there are 27 university teams that are divided into four conferences. Regina was in the Canadian West and they played eight games in a season.

As a true freshman in 2011, Campbell played in five of eight games, notching just two tackles and a pass breakup. He redshirted during the 2012 season before having his breakout year in 2013, totaling 30 tackles, six pass breakups, two tackles-for-loss, a sack, and two fumble recoveries. That same year, he also set the school record for punt return yards with 369. He earned Second-Team All-Canadian honors while being named a Canadian West All-Star as a defensive back and a kick returner.

His final year at Regina included seven games played but Campbell unfortunately missed the final game and the postseason due to injury. He finished the year with 17 tackles and four pass breakups. He left Regina as the schools all-time leader in kick and punt return average with 21.2 an 10.5, respectively.

Campbell spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons playing in the CFL while also continuing his track career at Regina. In 2016, Campbell won a Gold medal in the 60 meters at the CIS Championships. He also won the conference gold medal in his final three years while earning a silver medal as part of the school’s 4x200 relay at the CIS Championships in 2017.

After being selected by the Calgary Stampeders in the third round of the 2015 CFL Draft, he played just five games with the franchise before being traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders the following year. After two years, he was then traded to the Montreal Allouettes in a trade that included former NFL draft hopeful Vernon Adams Jr.

He finished his career in the CFL with 53 tackles, one sack, four interceptions, three defensive touchdowns, and two forced fumbles.

Campbell caught on with the New York Jets as a camp body prior to the 2019 season. On September 11 last year, he was signed to the practice squad by the Chargers. Throughout the rest of the season, he spent two stints on the active roster but ended the year on the PS before signing a reserve/futures contract with L.A.

In his first season seeing legitimate game action, Campbell started four games in place of the injured Chris Harris, finishing with his first career interception — which he returned for a touchdown against the Jets — to go with 22 total tackles, three pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

In 16 games with seven starts this past season, Campbell collected a career-high 40 total tackles, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and returned another fumble for a 61-yard touchdown.

Basic Info

Height: 6’0
Weight: 200
College: Regina
Experience: 3
Years with team: 3

Contract Status

“Tevaughn Campbell signed a 1 year, $610,000 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including an average annual salary of $610,000. In 2022, Campbell will earn a base salary of $965,000, while carrying a cap hit of $965,000.” - Spotrac.com

The Good

Campbell has a track background from his time in college which really helps translate to his turn and chase phase in coverage. He’s got good football speed and showed the ability to come up big when given the opportunity.

With another year under his belt, Campbell looked much more comfortable when asked to play on the outside. He improved his overall PFF grade from 52.4 in 2020 to a 56.9 in 2021 and even recorded his second career defensive touchdown. As a run defender, he saw his grade in that category improve from 57.6 to a notable 75.6. Overall, he’s a solid depth player at the position with plenty of experience that the Chargers can rely on in spot duty.

The Bad

Campbell lacks the ideal quick-twitch ability for a top tier corner and it showed when he was asked to cover any above-average receiver over the past two seasons. Despite also not being a full-time starter, Campbell ended the season having allowed 44 receptions and 556 yards in coverage. Those receptions tied with Michael Davis for the most allowed on the team and yardage was second behind only Davis.

He also missed a whopping 16.7 percent of his tackles in 2021, per Pro Football Reference, which is twice his rate from 2020.

Odds of making the roster/What to expect in 2022?

After the team added both J.C. Jackson and Bryce Callahan this offseason, Campbell has been pushed down the depth chart into “fight for your job” territory. I expect the team to keep around six cornerbacks and after rookie Ja’Sir Taylor impressed during OTAs and minicamp, Campbell may have to fight a little to earn one of the final spots on the active roster.