The Philadelphia Eagles' decision to take linebacker Jihaad Campbell with the No. 31 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft was met with excitement at the time. It looked like another case of the rich getting richer, especially after watching him in training camp. All signs pointed to his becoming a major contributor as the Eagles gunned for the second of back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
The rookie out of Alabama dominated right out of the gate. He was a pivotal part of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's defense to start the season. Now, he's been more of an afterthought and a non-factor on the defensive side of the field.
Jihaad Campbell Hits Rock Bottom in Week 13
As pointed out by SPORTSRADIO 94WIP, Campbell didn't play a single defensive snap against the Chicago Bears in Week 13. It was the first time in his career that he didn't play a single snap on defense, although he did play a career-high 25% of special team snaps, hinting that he isn't exactly at the forefront of Fangio's plans.
Campbell played in at least 87% of the team's defensive snaps in the first seven games of his career, including when he played 97.2% in Week 4. His playing time has taken a dive since Nakobe Dean returned to the defense in Week 7:
Game | Jihaad Campbell's Snap % | Nakobe Dean's Snap % |
|---|---|---|
Week 7 | 87.0% | 44.9% |
Week 8 | 40.4% | 63.5% |
Week 10 | 50.0% | 64.7% |
Week 11 | 33.9% | 67.8% |
Week 12 | 14.9% | 83.8% |
Week 13 | 0.0% | 94.3% |
Dean hasn't been perfect since his return, but he did finish Week 13 with a season-high 10 tackles, per Pro Football Focus. He's now racked up 29 solo efforts, six pressures, and a promising 79.7 pass rush grade since his return to action. For comparison, Campbell only has nine pressures and a grade of 63.0 this season despite seeing twice as many pass-rushing opportunities as Dean so far (46 vs. 23).
Dean is a free agent at the end of the year, and even though his return is guaranteed, the Eagles might want to hash out a new deal even more amid Campbell's regression. There's still plenty of time for the rookie to turn things around; however, Philadelphia could regret letting Dean walk if Campbell isn't ready for the spotlight.
The Eagles don't have that much margin for error, and DC Fangio might only want the more experienced players on the field during the end-of-season crunch. That might mean seeing more of Dean down the stretch compared to Campbell, especially if the latter keeps helping the pass rush more.
It's going to be interesting to see if Philly's rookie can flip the script on his current perception before it's too late. As great as it is to see Dean producing post-injury, the Eagles' defensive outlook will be even stronger if Campbell can step up, too.