The Detroit Lions have been quiet this offseason compared to some NFC teams, but they made one thing clear back in May. They believe Jack Campbell is their guy for the long haul. The four-year, $81 million extension was a statement. And now, according to a new ESPN poll, some NFL evaluators think that statement might be underselling it.
Jeremy Fowler’s annual top-10 linebacker list dropped Tuesday, and Campbell landed at No. 5. That’s a jump from last year, when he was just an honorable mention. The feedback Fowler collected from execs, coaches and scouts was all over the place. Some voters had Campbell as the absolute best linebacker in the league. Others left him off the list entirely. That kind of split is rare, and it usually means one thing: the talent is undeniable, but people want to see it sustain.
Campbell is 6-foot-4, 256 pounds. He moves like a safety but hits like a defensive end. One AFC assistant coach told Fowler, “Excellent football IQ, tough, physical, plays downhill, instinctive, aware, leader — throwback football player.” That’s about as high as praise gets without actually saying the name Brian Urlacher. But Fowler went there anyway, writing that Campbell has drawn physical comparisons to the Hall of Famer because of his frame and his ability to close passing windows.
Last season, Campbell was an absolute machine. He posted 176 tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four passes defensed. Those are monster numbers for an off-ball linebacker. The Lions defense wasn’t great as a unit — they missed the playoffs in a major surprise — but Campbell was rarely the problem.
Now he’s going to have even more on his plate. Alex Anzalone left for Tampa Bay in free agency, which means Campbell becomes the primary communicator and play-caller in the middle of that defense. The Lions are leaning hard on him being a leader, not just a playmaker. And based on what the coaches and front office have said, they think he’s ready for it.
Training camp opens later this month. The Lions will be one of the more interesting teams to watch this fall, mostly because nobody really knows what they are yet. But the one thing that’s becoming clearer every week: Jack Campbell is the kind of player you build a defense around.
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