The Philadelphia Eagles have had a strange journey in 2025, and that's especially true for rookie Jihaad Campbell. The Eagles’ first round pick in this year’s draft, Campbell’s first campaign started strong but was put on the back burner when Nakobe Dean returned from a torn patellar tendon.
Campbell shockingly fell further behind as the season went along -- until Dean suffered a hamstring injury that allowed him to hit the field again in last week’s win over the Buffalo Bills. With the Eagles reportedly resting starters for their Week 18 matchup against the Washington Commanders, Campbell received more good news when Dean did not practice on Thursday according to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
While it’s unfortunate for Dean, it could be what Campbell needs to sell himself to be a key piece to the Eagles’ playoff run.
Jihaad Campbell Gets a Playoff Audition for Eagles in Week 18
Campbell’s resume begins with the flashes he's shown on the year. While he’s been solid with an overall grade of 76.6 over 649 total snaps, he’s also been effective as a pass rusher, working on the edge at times and posting 12 pressures with a 20.8% win rate on 55 snaps according to Pro Football Focus.
Dean has just 403 total snaps on the year and hasn’t been as effective as Campbell in run defense or coverage. But he’s been an absolute beast as a pass-rusher, logging 10 pressures, four sacks and a 28.6% win rate.
While there are holes in Dean’s game, it wasn’t enough to stop Campbell from being almost non-existent, averaging just 17 snaps per game between a Week 10 win at the Green Bay Packers and a Week 15 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. But Campbell took over when Dean was injured in a Week 16 win over the Commanders and had a strong game against the Bills, making seven tackles and collecting a pair of pressures on seven pass-rushing snaps.
This sets up an interesting storyline going into Sunday’s regular season finale. With Campbell likely to draw the start, he could grab defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s attention for a larger role in the playoffs. In this scenario, it could see Campbell get more snaps against the run and in coverage with Dean coming in as a subpackage player that can rush the passer.
The ramifications continue down the line as Dean is set to become a free agent next season. If he walks, it gives Campbell time to develop his ability to rush the passer and to take on a larger role in 2026. And even if Dean comes back, it could be Campbell who gets the bulk of the snaps.
It is something that Campbell has to take advantage of in what has been an eventful rookie year.