The Philadelphia Eagles draft cornerbacks and linebackers in the first round now! Imagine reading that sentence as an Eagles fan five years ago.

Philadelphia traded up one spot from No. 32 to No. 31 with the Kansas City Chiefs to select Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell.

“We have a lot of confidence this guy’s going to be here and play at a really high level for a long time,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said. “When you’re in a draft and you’re picking at the end of the first round, you don’t have an opportunity to get a top-10 player on your board. A guy who can affect the quarterback, a guy who can affect the passing game. For us, it was a no-brainer. Local kid, great character. So we were really excited to add him.”

According to Roseman, Campbell was a “top 10” player on their board, and it was an “easy pick.”

It’s not hard to see why.

The 6-foot-3 Campbell tested well at the combine, running a 4.52 40-yard dash along with a broad jump of 127 inches. In 2024, Campbell also led Alabama in tackles (117), tackles for loss (11.5), and sacks (5). Campbell also earned All-SEC honors in 2024.

The production is there, but what truly makes the pick worthwhile is that Campbell isn’t just an athletic, traits-y, good tester—the tape speaks (and it speaks very loudly).

Campbell’s combination of speed, length, versatility, and playmaking ability is the selling point with him as a prospect.

“I don’t want to put this player in a box,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said following the selection of Campbell. To me, that signals that Campbell’s responsibilities in Vic Fangio’s defense will be multifaceted.

The Eagles haven’t selected an off-ball linebacker since 1979, and while Campbell was drafted as a linebacker and played off-ball linebacker during his time at Alabama, Roseman was non-committal in a positional designation for him.

And specifically with Vic Fangio at the helm of the defense, it makes sense.

Last season, we saw a lot of Zack Baun flowing between off-ball linebacker and EDGE rusher. Specifically, in the Saints game early in the season. At times last season, Baun was used as a bit of a chess piece. And for Fangio, the more versatile chess pieces he has in his arsenal, the better.

Zack Baun’s hybrid role helped Fangio match up against zone-heavy, misdirection-based offenses. Baun seamlessly transitioned between off-ball responsibilities and rushing off the edge, allowing Fangio to mask coverages, stay in two-high shells, and still load the box effectively without compromising leverage or coverage integrity.

Campbell profiles in a very similar mold. Like Baun, he offers the sideline-to-sideline range in terms of coverage ability, and he’s shown that he has the ability to affect the opposing quarterback off the EDGE or with his hand in the dirt when asked to.

“This doesn’t deviate (from) what we believe,” Roseman said. “We believe in affecting the passing game on offense and defense, and this guy can affect the passing game on defense.”

It’s not hard to imagine Fangio deploying Campbell in many of the same ways we saw him use Baun in 2024: flashing down and mugging the A-gap at times in simulated pressure looks, dropping into coverage, or rushing off the edge.

And with Campbell’s length and closing speed, there’s even more upside as a pass disruptor. It’s a lot like positionless football.

Vic Fangio’s system thrives on the illusion of simplicity. Having multiple players who can do a ton of everything is a key ingredient to what makes the system work.

“We have a system that is versatile, we like to think,” Fangio said last season. “It needs to be versatile because every week, you’re facing different strengths of an offense and different schemes. So, what you play in one week 10, 15 times, you may not play at all the next week. You have to have a versatile system for the offenses today in the NFL.”

Campbell matches that M.O. in terms of versatility. Roseman specifically highlighted Penn State and their development of EDGE rushers/Pseudo linebacker archetypes of players. Most recently, number three overall selection Abdul Carter and of course current Dallas Cowboy, Micah Parsons.

It’s even more relevant when you consider that (according to PHLY’s Zach Berman), Campbell’s only contact pre-draft with the Eagles came with outside linebackers coach/defensive end coach Jeremiah Washburn, not inside linebacker coach Bobby King.

It’s clear that versatility was the selling point for Roseman and the Eagles with Campbell. Given the way NFL offenses are trending in terms of multiplicity and zone-based offenses now prevalent across the league, defenses have the be versatile. They have to have Swiss Army knife types.

Jihaad Campbell fits that archetype like a glove.

It also helps that Campbell grew up near Philadelphia and was an Eagles fan.

“It was a surreal moment for me and my family,” Campbell said. “My grandfather, way back to the Randall Cunningham days, he always watched the Eagles. He always loved the Eagles. My pops, my mom, my two brothers — my whole family.”

Cover Image Credit: The Philly Blitz Media