Tyson Campbell vs. Calvin Ridley Has Been the Jaguars' Blockbuster of the Summer

When two great players go at it in practice, it makes everybody better -- and that is the best way to describe Calvin Ridley and Tyson Campbell's epic battles.

The summer has always been all about blockbusters. 

A good blockbuster typically has it all. Explosions, high stakes, big budgets, dramatics, all wrapped into one package that steals the show.

That is exactly what the Jacksonville Jaguars have seen in training camp, with Calvin Ridley's and Tyson Campbell's epic clashes each day in training camp creating the newest summer attraction in northeast Florida.

The Jaguars' new receiver and third-year cornerback have battled countless times over the first seven practices of training camp, with each rep becoming appointment viewing worthy of popcorn and dropped jaws. 

When two great football players go at it, it feels special. You can feel it. It simply looks different. And that is what you see with Campbell and Ridley, with the two drawing rabid cheers from the fans in the end-zone of the Miller Electric Center simply by lining up against each other. 

But there is no way to describe it better than Campbell did on Wednesday. 

"It’s just Calvin Ridley and Tyson Campbell," Campbell said. 

“It’s been great, man. I love every bit of it. He’s going to make Sundays so much easier for me and I’m going to do the same for him. I’m just competitive, I love competing with anybody. He’s a great player and I just love competing at the end of the day. That’s just how we are, we love competing and I love it.”

Ridley has stolen the show over the first two weeks of training camp, and for good reason. The former Atlanta Falcons and Alabama Crimson Tide star has looked every bit the part of a No. 1 receiver and has been an issue for seemingly every Jaguars' defensive back to cover with consistency outside of Campbell. 

"We’ve got a receiver that can run every route in the route tree. He’s fast, quick, and has good hands. As a DB, I got to bring my A-game each and every rep," Campbell said.

“It’s great. That’s why I like to go with the starters together and practice together because you’re getting those quality reps and game-speed reps," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said earlier in camp. 

"When Calvin [Ridley] and Christian [Kirk] and Zay [Jones] and Evan [Engram] and TJ [WR Tim Jones] and those guys are practicing full speed, that’s what we need. It just makes us better.”

Campbell has been the perfect foil for Ridley. Ridley has an advanced level of route running proficiency, but Campbell is quickly becoming a cornerback who can hang with any receiver, no matter the style. 

Ridley has the speed to keep up with Ridley downfield, the instincts and fluidity to keep up with him on outside and in-breaking routes, and the ball skills to challenge him at the catch point. If Ridley has stolen the show on offense, it has been Campbell who has stolen it on defense. 

"I just love the way he came back and really has embraced, I think, him being in that conversation of one of the top corners in the league. He’s picking up where he left off and doing well," Pederson said about Campbell. 

“Really, the leadership stands out first. He’s a guy that came in, was a young guy, really talented, and he’s starting to put it together," Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell said about Ridley. 

"When he puts it together, he’s able to let his experience show to the other guys and help the other guys. Tyson is a guy that has all the talent in the world and you can see the confidence growing in him. I’m happy he’s here and I’m ready for big things this year.”

Campbell has shown the ability to do it all at cornerback. Ridley has shown the same ability at wide receiver. And when the two seek each other out in one-on-ones each day like they have during the first two weeks of training camp, it simply feels like a big deal. 

"When you go against a good one, it helps you out, and Calvin is a good one. He’s one of the ones. It’s all about the competition, whether it’s within your group or on offense, competition is what makes us the team we’re going to be," Caldwell said.  

"We’re out there every day going against the offense, they’ll hit a play, we’ll hit a play. It’s just going back and forth, and you learn from that. Then, that carries over into a game situation when something happens in a game, you can get muscle memory of what happened in training camp and you’re able to perform that way.”

"It's the role I accept, like, if my team needs to be the follow a receiver, I'm already confident in the work I put in going against the receivers every day," Campbell told Jaguar Report. 

"You got two guys who love to compete. So at the end of the day, we're gonna make each other better, you know, just giving it our all each and every day. It's gonna make Sundays easy."