Well, it’s a bittersweet feeling looming in Tuscaloosa. Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama lost seven top players to the 2025 NFL Draft. It’s obvious that their hearts ache a little more for the two top picks. One of them was Jihaad Campbell, who is now gracing the Philadelphia Eagles. Having proven himself in DeBoer’s squad, he earned a No. 72 ranking among PFF’s Top 101 players from the 2024 CFB season. Notably, he was one of only four Power Four linebackers to conclude the season with grades of at least 80.0 in both run defense and coverage. So, how could his former mentors forget him? An Alabama staffer appeared to tap into a ‘Praise Jihaad Campbell’ mode, as a new story begins for the linebacker in Philadelphia.

As a first-time HC for Bama, DeBoer ensured his fair share of players were sent to the 2025 NFL Draft, including two first-round picks. Offensive lineman Tyler Booker, who got drafted by the Dallas Cowboys at No.12. The other one is linebacker Campbell, who went off as the No.31 overall pick to the Philadelphia Eagles. Odds have been pretty high for Campbell when discussions started to do rounds on which Alabama Crimson Tide football player will be the first from the program selected in the 2025 NFL draft. After all, the young chap carried with him a strong resume. In his three seasons at Tuscaloosa, DeBoer’s ex-linebacker came up with 88 solo tackles in 35 games played, along with 184 total tackles.

And guess what? Even after flying off to the NFL, his former mentors can’t stop talking about him. On May 6, Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack faced the media at the 2025 Mobile Sports HOF induction banquet. And he got hit with the question, “What did Jihaad Campbell do to make himself into a first-round pick?”

The coach replied, “Well, you know Jihaad’s a great story. Here’s a guy that came in as an outside linebacker, moved to the inside linebacker position really the year before we got there. Played, had a role in defense, but it was very evident when we got here’s a young man with all the attributes physically. He’s the hardest worker on the field. There’s nobody that outworks him.” The Alabama product has the ability to line up at either inside or outside linebacker. And when combining that with his size and athleticism, it makes Campbell an absolute phenom. 

Well, we got to witness his power at the NFL Combine. Campbell took the field for just two drills but blew away the competition in each. The former 5-star prospect completed his 40-yard dash in just 4.52 seconds, posting the third-best time of the day. He also posted an impressive performance in the broad jump, finishing in second place for the day with a 10’7″ leap. This resulted in an athleticism score of 82, the highest among linebackers in his class. Seeing Campbell come off with flying colors makes Wommack boast with pride. “It’s really rewarding when a guy that does everything the right way and plays the hardest on game day gets rewarded in the NFL draft.” In Philadelphia, Campbell is already breaking traditions. 

A new era for Philly’s defense begins with Jihaad Campbell

“He’s going to be sideline-to-sideline. He’s very versatile. We played him a lot off the ball, but in certain packages, we put him on the edge, and I know that’s really what he was coming out of high school was that edge pass rusher. I feel like he’s really grown.” This was DeBoer’s take on Campbell during his interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Amy Fadool. Already in Philadelphia, the young chap is going to get special treatment. After all, in the last 46 years, the Eagles have drafted two linebackers in the first round. Jerry Robinson out of UCLA and Campbell. Now that’s a big win for Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman.

On that note, analyst Jeremy Fowler shared, “Howie Roseman is breaking precedent here. The Eagles have not drafted a true linebacker since 1979 in the first round.” Given Philadelphia’s track record, the Eagles never prioritized the position. So things are gradually changing in Roseman’s squad. As Fowler noted, “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.”

Last season, the Eagles’ defense leaned heavily on their inside linebackers, with Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean, and Oren Burks all having career-best years to shut down running backs and those middle-of-the-field receivers. Contrast that with the year before, when Dean and Zach Cunningham saw the Eagles cough up six straight touchdown drives against San Francisco. Now that they’ve locked in Jihaad Campbell from Alabama, a key weapon, and Georgia’s fifth-round pick Smael Mondon, it looks like the Eagles have finally shored up their linebacker spot for the long haul and shouldn’t see those kinds of struggles again. Philly just patched its Achilles’ heel—the rest of the NFL better no longer take them lightly.