The Philadelphia Eagles have a true diamond in the rough in Jihaad Campbell. They got a glimpse of what he could do early in his rookie season, but his playing time slowly went down as soon as Nakobe Dean got back to full strength.
He went from playing 92 percent of defensive snaps in Week 1 to progressively ceding ground. He only reached 50 percent of the snaps once between Weeks 8-15, until finally getting back on the field for the final stretch of the season. Now, with Dean and Jaelan Phillips gone in free agency, the starting job is officially his to lose.
Jihaad Campbell Will Breakout in Year 2
Despite inconsistent playing time, Campbell still managed to make a strong impact for Vic Fangio's defense. He's a hybrid defender who can excel at both outside linebacker and edge rusher, and he played all over the front seven at Alabama and, to a degree, as a rookie.
He finished his first campaign in the league with 80 tackles (44 solo), two tackles for loss, one QB hit, three passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one interception. He accomplished this while only starting in 10 of 17 games, making the production even more impressive.
According to Pro Football Focus, Campbell's 711 snaps ranked 49th among 186 eligible linebackers. However, his PFF grade of 76.2 ranked 13th. He was even better in coverage (78.6, 5th), logging 14 pressures and 21 run stops. On a negative note, he did miss six tackles, so he has to do a better job of choosing his angles and finishing plays.
Campbell would've likely been an undisputed starter on at least half of the teams last season. Still, there was no way the Eagles were going to bench Zack Baun after giving him such a big contract, and Dean picked up things right away once he got back from injury. Then, trading for Jaelan Phillips only hurt Campbell's chances of seeing meaningful snaps even more.
That said, Campbell is just getting started. He'll be 23 next season, so the Eagles did the right thing by easing him into action and letting him learn behind more experienced players. Knowing that he's there is why they could afford to let Dean and Phillips go without much opposition.
Now, the bar will be much higher in his second year in the league. He won't get any slack, and it's time to prove why some may argue he was one of the biggest steals of the first round of the 2025 draft. The Eagles haven't signed anyone to replace Dean, and while they added two edge rushers in Joe Tyron and Arnold Ebiketie, none of them should be ahead of Campbell in the pecking order. They clearly believe in him, and it's time to show why.