It remains to be seen if Nick Sirianni will finally garner respect nationally (and locally) after the Eagles' smackdown of Kansas City in the Super Bowl, but what's undeniable is that their assistant coaches are beloved. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Jeff Stoutland are the best of the best at what they do, molding afterthoughts into stars and turning groups of players into cohesive, well-oiled machines.
Looking at what the Birds did in the 2025 NFL Draft, it's clear the front office brass is putting that trust in Fangio and Stoutland once again, and rightfully so.
Fangio turned a laughable 2023 Eagles D into the league's best on the way to stomping Patrick Mahomes in New Orleans in February. Stoutland is among the greatest assistant coaches of the modern era, a continuous anchor for the Eagles' perpetually dominant offensive lines. The Birds are banking on that continuing.
Look no further than the Eagles' first-round selection, Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell, who did a little bit of everything during his time with the Crimson Tide. This past collegiate season, Campbell totaled 117 tackles while picking up five sacks. He came into the draft as an off-ball linebacker, the first Eagles first-rounder to hold that role since 1979, but if you think Campbell will merely be put into a traditional box for that position, you're wrong and you missed why Fangio's defense was so successful this past fall and winter. He'll be on the field immediately, whether that's playing in an old-school linebacker spot, an edge-rusher package or blitzing up the middle. Playing for a lesser defensive mind, maybe Campbell slips away as a tweener. Under Fangio, though? There's star potential.
The Eagles' selection of Campbell reminds me of the Cowboys taking Micah Parsons a few years back. Unfortunately for Birds fans, Parsons resembles the second coming of Lawrence Taylor. I'm not comparing Campbell and Parsons from a talent standpoint, but from a utility perspective. Parsons came into the 2021 NFL Draft billed as an off-ball linebacker, which is why a lot of Eagles fans were iffy on their team taking him that spring. Parsons ultimately fell into a role as a pass-rusher in Dallas, however, and is now a superstar with 52.5 sacks to his name through his age-25 season.
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Fangio doesn't have a limited mindset when it comes to his players, particularly with the sheer ability Campbell has. The defensive coordinator will unlock the Birds' new multi-faceted defender in no time.
The Eagles also picked up three offensive linemen on Day 3 of the draft: Boston College's Drew Kendall, Michigan's Myles Hinton and Texas' Cameron Williams. Credit to the Birds' front office over the years for finding diamonds in the rough late, like Jason Kelce and Jordan Mailata, especially, but Stoutland University gave those guys a grade-A education.
If you told me any of the other 31 teams took a lineman on Day 3 of the draft, I'd say you just hope they can turn into a quality backup player. If the Eagles did, though? How could you not have faith that even one of those guys could turn into a big-time contributor in due time? The hit rate is there. What if Kendall steals the right guard job in camp this summer? Would it really surprise you if that occurred? Definitely not!
The Birds are the envy of the football world currently. They have talent everywhere. They have a coaching staff in place that can maximize those players perfectly. Their general manager is going to end up in Canton one day. Their owner has continued to make the right decisions for the last half-decade. Seeing Campbell blossom or Stoutland University add another student to its honor roll this upcoming season will only add to it all.
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