It finally happened. The Philadelphia Eagles ended 46-year span in which they didn't select a linebacker in the first round when they drafted Alabama's Jihaad Campbell 31st overall. There's a lot to unpack with this selection.
The Eagles apparently now value linebackers
Throughout the season, every Saturday we review five players who make sense for the Eagles in the following year's draft. Campbell was a considered something of a first-round lock all season, and so we never reviewed him, you know, because he's a linebacker and the Eagles don't draft linebackers in the first round. Oops.
The selection of Campbell was an unexpected outcome. However, "unexpected" doesn't mean "bad." Quite the contrary, actually. The selection of Campbell signals a long overdue boost in prioritization of the linebacker position, and for the Eagles, it makes sense.
Remember in 2023 when the Eagles were trotting out guys like Zach Cunningham, Nicholas Morrow, and the walking corpse of Shaq Leonard? Opposing offenses absolutely shredded them in the middle of the field, both in the run game and pass game. The dysfunctional defensive coaching staff had something to do with that, of course, but it was clear that if you don't have good linebackers, today's NFL offenses can make you pay.
In 2024, the Eagles didn't invest heavy resources at linebacker, but they got unexpectedly outstanding play from Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean. The result? Oh hey, they had the best defense in the NFL, by far. And again, there were other factors, like the arrival of Vic Fangio, vastly improved cornerback play, and Jalen Carter growing into a star player, but this defense would not be where it was without the play of the linebackers.
(Almost) nobody saw this coming
I thought the Eagles had an outstanding poker face throughout the pre-draft process. Campbell did not come in for a "Top 30" visit, and he said his only interaction with the Eagles during the draft process was a conversation at the Combine with edge rusher coach Jeremiah Washburn. We previously knew 2 truths:
- The Eagles draft a lot of dudes who come in for visits.
- They don't draft LBs in Round 1.
And, well, aside from Daniel Jeremiah's final mock draft, nobody of relevance picked up on any kind of scent connecting Campbell to the Eagles. Avoiding him throughout the pre-draft process was almost certainly purposeful.
Where will Campbell play for the Eagles?
Campbell was recruited as an edge rusher out of high school, but he moved to linebacker at Bama, with some occasional reps on the edge.
To begin, Campbell is 6'3, 235 pounds. He has prototypical linebacker size.
Change his position to edge defender, and, well, he doesn't. As you can see, 99 percent of NFL edge rushers would outweigh him.
I also thought the following video by Ted Nguyen did a nice job of highlighting Campbell's strengths and weaknesses. Nguyen concluded — and I agree — that Campbell's skill set is much more suited to off-ball linebacker than on the edge. It's not that long. Just five minute. It's worth a the watch.
However, because Campbell possesses that Baun-like OBLB/EDGE versatility, he's yet another player in the Eagles' defense who can allow Fangio to get creative in his scheme disguises.
So if this guy was a such a first-round lock, why did he fall all the way to pick 31?
He's injured. More specifically, he had surgery on a torn labrum following the 2024 season. That did not dissuade the Eagles from grading him very highly.
"This was a top-10 player on our board," Roseman said. "We do not have any long-term concerns with his health. We look at the draft as a long-term opportunity for our team. We have a lot of confidence this guy's going to be here and play at a really high level for a long time. When you're in a draft and you're picking at the end of the first round, you don't have an opportunity to get a top-10 player on your board. A guy who can affect the quarterback, a guy who can affect the passing game.
"We spent a lot of time with our doctors and our medical staff ensuring that we were all seeing it the same way. Again, we have a lot of confidence in our edge rushers on this team and our inside linebackers on this team, but for us, we thought this was one of the best players in the draft."
We'll see how quickly Campbell is able to return to the field and if he's good to go for training camp or not, but for a team like the Eagles, who do not have many holes, they have the luxury of taking injured players who many not be able to participate immediately, as long as they feel like the injuries aren't cause for serious concern, long-term.
Overall
The Eagles got a top 3 type of prospect in 2023 in Jalen Carter at pick 9. They got a top 12-15 type of prospect in 2024 in Quinyon Mitchell at pick 22. And in 2025, they got a top 15 type of prospect in Campbell at pick 31. They simply do a great job of landing players in the first round at incredible values. A.
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