The Eagles have pulled off a one-pick swap at the back of the first round. Philadelphia has acquired No. 31 from the Chiefs, sending Kansas City Nos. 32 and 164 (h/t ESPN’s Adam Schefter).
With the pick, the Eagles have selected Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell. Lingering as one of the best available prospects for an extended stretch tonight, Campbell will join the defending Super Bowl champions — after their trade with the team they walloped in February. As the Chiefs moved to draft tackle Josh Simmons at No. 32, the Eagles bolstered their linebacking corps with a rookie-scale asset.
Campbell established himself as a late-Day 1 or early-Day 2 pick following a strong showing in 2024. The Alabama linebacker finished the season with 117 tackles, five sacks, and 12 tackles for loss, a performance that earned him All-SEC honors.
Campbell drew praise for his coverage ability thanks to his athleticism and acceleration. Scouts weren’t as high on his run-stopping ability, although he lands in a good spot for his development in Philly. The prospect ultimately profiles as more of a middle linebacker, although he possesses the versatility and pass-rush prowess to also play on the edge.
The Eagles are apparently enamored with Campbell’s ability, as the team reportedly tried to trade up earlier in the first round to select the Alabama product. The player’s recovery from a shoulder injury may have slightly hurt his draft stock, a development that ended up working in Philly’s favor.
As Nakobe Dean recovers from a torn patellar tendon, Campbell could be called on to start at middle linebacker to begin the 2025 campaign. When the whole grouping is entirely healthy, Campbell may find himself in a rotational role playing behind Dean and Zack Baun. Campbell’s contract becomes critical now that the Eagles have paid Baun, who has gone from a one-year, $3.5MM deal to a three-year, $51MM pact after his first-team All-Pro season. With injuries marring Dean’s rookie contract, the Eagles paid up to make a more significant investment in a position they had recently devoted minimal resources to stocking.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Cool name, I guess.
Ya,
His parents named him that??
To be fair, you could say that in response to half these names. They’re creative, to say the least.
I wanna draft crusades watkins
Wow racist much?
Jihaad and all of the variations has been a common name for a long time. Jahad, Jihad, etc etc.
They aren’t common names. Especially since he was born after 9/11. And pulling the racism card is dumb.
You clearly don’t know many black people.
Yes they are.
Jihad Ward has been in the league for nine years. He played 18 games for a playoff team last year.
Every comment section has an idiot like you in it wanting to call anyone a racist
Asking “Wow his parents named him that?” about a common name is at best ignorant to the max.
What about holy war st brown
Typical for “notimportant” to focus on non-factual claims. This isn’t a race thing, at all and it is inflammatory to suggest it is and is an emotionally based claim.
The fact is that the name “Jihad” is not in the top 1000 most common baby names in the US in any recent year and was given to less than 200 babies annually. Annual births are over 3.5 million and we are speaking of less than 200 of them being named “Jihad”.
It is not at all racist to question why someone would name their child an uncommon name, especially when adding in the nuance of the etymology of the word and its translation to the English language.
My favorite part of “notimportant’s” comments are when he says “You clearly don’t know many black people”. How many black people do you know named “Jihad”? It would be a mathematical anomaly if you knew just one, let alone multiples.
Take your race baiting garbage elsewhere and have a factual conversation.
boom roasted
Talented kid. Only question is can he cover the pass?
So Howie didn’t think Campbell would still be there at 32? It looks like KC was gifted a free pick.
Rumor was that other teams were trying to trade with KC to get him. As an Eagles fan it made no sense to me either til I heard that. It’s all hearsay though we’ll never know for sure