Tennessee Titans: Could Tommie Campbell Move into a Starting Role?

All the news coming from Tennessee Titans camp lately has been about signing an experienced nickelback to fill the hole left by the departure of Cortland Finnegan.

Up until recently, it's seemed like a forgone conclusion, since Cortland Finnegan left for St. Louis, that Jason McCourty and Alterraun Verner would be the two starting cornerbacks in Tennessee. Some recent comments from defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, however, have opened the door to a possible position battle at CB2, with Tommie Campbell in the mix as well:

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"He’s probably one of the best technique corners we’ve got besides (Jason McCourty),” Gray said of Campbell. “I’m telling you, he’s doing a really great job. You should see his technique in individual. Now he’s not going against a wide receiver (currently), and he’s not judging the ball and those things. So you really can’t see that. But just as a pure technique corner, he’s probably the second-best we’ve got.”

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All three Titans corners from 2011 ranked in the top-15, and being considered the second-best in technique should be something that raises a few eyebrows.

Fellow corner Jason McCourty also shared some accolades for the second-year man: “He's always working, lifting weights and running. He's going to continue to get better.”

Verner, meanwhile, said that he's working inside in the defense and said that's where he prefers to play, according to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

At 6'3 and 205 lbs, Campbell offers rare size at the position. And he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.31 in college, proving that he has tremendous speed as well.

Being able to put a guy with the kind of size that Campbell possesses against the increasing number of big, physical receivers in the NFL can prove invaluable. This season alone, the Titans play Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson and Brandon Marshall.

At the same time, being bigger than an opposing receiver can cause all sorts of problems for the man trying to get open in press coverage.   

One knock against Campbell, however, is that he has next to no experience. Verner has been on the field early and often in his career, playing both outside and in the nickel, and has been an above-average player.

Whether or not Campbell is capable of beating out Verner for the starting gig or winning nickel duties, it's definitely a good sign to have added competition at both spots.

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"The spot’s open," Gray said. "(Verner) is in front of (Campbell), but you know he’s going to push him. That’s what you’re looking for. In order to get to where we want to go, we need guys pushing the starters."

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Looks like the positional battles got a little more interesting.