After breaking with a tradition nearly 50 years in the making, Vic Fangio’s influence convinced Howie Roseman to draft Jihaad Campbell.
In the last 46 years, the Philadelphia Eagles have drafted two linebackers in the first round: Jerry Robinson out of UCLA, and Jihaad Campbell, the do-it-all front-seven player out of Alabama, who came off the board at pick 31.
Now granted, as even general manager Howie Roseman noted after Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft, Campbell isn’t only going to play inside linebacker for Vic Fangio this fall, as the Birds could give the Alabama prospect a look, maybe even an extended look, on the edge once he’s fully cleared to return to action.
With that being said, until he fully transitions to the edge, Campbell will remain an inside linebacker on the depth chart and in the eyes of fans, especially as Nakobe Dean recovers from his playoff patellar tendon tear.
But why did Roseman decide to break with such a long-standing tradition, one that began when he was in elementary school, to make Campbell the new face of the Eagles’ young linebacking corps? Well, as Jeremy Fowler broke down on NFL Live, it all comes down to Fangio, who clearly wants to build from the center out.
“Howie Roseman is breaking precedent here. The Eagles have not drafted a true linebacker since 1979 in the first round,” Fowler noted on NFL Live. “They had never done it, typically didn’t prioritize the position, didn’t pay those players a lot, now Zack Baun got paid, Jihaad Campbell in the first round, so they are clearly trusting Vic Fangio after his Super Bowl performance to develop players at positions he cares about like linebacker.”
In 2025, the Eagles’ defense really did live or die by their inside linebacker play, with Baun, Dean, and Oren Burks all turning in career years to keep running backs from picking up extra yardage and middle-of-the-field receiving options from matriculating the ball down the field. With Campbell and Georgia fifth-round pick Smael Mondon now locked in, it’s clear the Eagles are set up for success for years to come.
