Pro Football Rumors
Linebacker Nakobe Dean‘s career-opening run with the Eagles ended when he signed a three-year, $36.03MM deal with the Raiders in March. The four-year veteran performed well in Philadelphia when healthy, but the team prepared for his exit when it took Jihaad Campbell 31st overall in the 2025 draft. A year later, Campbell is poised to take on a full-time starting job alongside star Zack Baun.
Campbell showed he could handle a prominent role as a rookie, making it easier for Eagles general manager Howie Roseman to pass on paying Dean this offseason. With knee and hamstring injuries limiting Dean to 10 games and eight starts, Campbell played 63% of defensive snaps. Over 17 games and 10 starts, the former Alabama standout chipped in 80 tackles, three pass deflections and an interception.
While he didn’t post gaudy traditional numbers as a first-year player, Pro Football Focus ranked Campbell as the NFL’s 14th-best off-ball linebacker out of 88 qualifiers (Dean was 43rd). Campbell fared especially well in coverage, per PFF, which rated him sixth at his position in that category. Opposing quarterbacks managed a weak 85.8 passer rating against Campbell on 36 targets, according to Pro Football Reference.
Campbell went without a sack in his first season, but the Eagles believe in his “burgeoning pass-rush skill set,” Zach Berman of The Athletic relays. Despite the lack of sacks, the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder finished a solid 26th among LBs in pressures (14), according to PFF. He previously demonstrated legitimate pass-rushing chops during his final college season in 2024, a 13-game campaign in which he racked up five sacks en route to first-team All-SEC honors. The athletic Campbell continued to improve his stock when he ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 Combine. The Eagles were impressed enough to trade up for him at the end of the first round a couple months later.
Campbell missed offseason workouts this year as a result of March shoulder surgery, but he will be ready for the start of the season, Berman reports. If he stays healthy and progresses in his second year, Campbell could be a key part of what looks like a fearsome defensive front. Along with Campbell and Baun, the Eagles boast an elite trio of linemen (Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo) and a formidable set of edge rushers that includes Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith.
