The Philadelphia Eagles have made a habit out of mining talent in the NFL Draft in recent seasons and they’re hoping for a similar result in 2025. With linebacker Jihaad Campbell leading the way, the Eagles are optimistic that they can find players to replace some of the key players they’ve lost this offseason and make another run toward the Super Bowl.
While Campbell got off to a great start in his first training camp practice, life comes at you fast in the NFL. In the middle of rave reviews came a reality check from defensive coordinator Vic Fangio that shows that the first-round pick has plenty of work to do ahead of his rookie season.
Eagles DC Vic Fangio Throws Cold Water on Jihaad Campbell’s First Practice
Campbell was one of the biggest stories coming out of the first practice of training camp on Wednesday. The linebacker momentarily showed why the Eagles felt like he was a top-10 pick despite concerns about his shoulder, making several key plays and moving fluidly while working with the second-team defense.
But if you were expecting Fangio to heap praise on Campbell, he dumped cold water on the hype train.
“I thought he did fine yesterday,” Fangio stated. “In the spring, I was having him off to the side and we were doing drills. And then yesterday…[it’s] the first time he’s in there against a moving offense. And you know, for what he’s been exposed to up to this point, I thought he did fine.”
Vic Fangio says he thought Jihaad Campbell did “fine” yesterday in his first action. Vic says he did not expect Jihaad to be ready for camp pic.twitter.com/bS82j6E3JT
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) July 24, 2025
Fangio also admitted there’s a long way to go before Campbell could become a key component of the Eagles’ defense.
“At that position in particular, obviously you have to know what to do and how to do it,” Fangio explained. “Assignment, technique, but the instincts part of it, play recognition, diagnosing things…how quick do you react? That’s very telling at that position and we’ll see how fast he comes along in that area.”
The Eagles may not have time for Campbell to get up to speed. Philadelphia enjoyed a breakout season from Nakobe Dean with 128 total tackles, nine tackles for loss three sacks, four pass deflections, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries but his availability for the start of the upcoming season is unlikely after suffering a torn patellar tendon during the playoffs.
That injury may have been why the Eagles pounced on the opportunity to trade up for Campbell in the draft and why many were excited to see him on the field on Wednesday. Even Fangio had to note it was good to see the rookie out there and able to make some progress at the beginning of camp.
“Yeah, it was good to see him out there. I wasn’t expecting him out there,” Fangio said. “The trainers had been telling me all spring that it would be some point in August when he would be out there. So, I’m learning that our trainers like to understate and overachieve so they look good. But it was good to get him out there. No. 1, it was just an hour of practice but [there’s] no other earth-shattering news to report yet other than he was out there and he’s progressing.”