Aug 16, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles helmet on the bench during a game against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles Found Superstar As Rest Of The NFL Passed By

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Sep 25, 2025 11:21 AM ET

The Philadelphia Eagles clearly made the right choice in the first round of the 2025 National Football League Draft.

The Eagles acquired the No. 31 pick in the first round from the Kansas City Chiefs and used it to select Jihaad Campbell. The rookie linebacker had some injury concerns, but clearly the Eagles weren't worried about that. Campbell hasn't missed a beat and has started all three games so far for the Eagles. He has played 95 percent of the reigning Super Bowl champion's defensive snaps. That's pretty wild in general for a rookie, but a rookie on a legit contender? That just goes to show how highly the Eagles think of him and have thought of him right away.

The Eagles have been rewarded as well. Campbell looks like a superstar. He has one pass defended, one forced fumble, 18 total tackles, one quarterback hit, and has held opposing quarterbacks to a 28.6 completion percentage when throwing his way on seven attempts.

He's been phenomenal and Pro Football Focus shared that he's actually the highest-graded defensive rookie so far this season.

The Eagles found a star

The highest-graded defensive rookie this season:

Jihaad Campbell pic.twitter.com/J3fpWE5yHE
— PFF (@PFF) September 24, 2025

Howie Roseman and the Eagles' front office clearly struck again. Last year, they bolstered their defense with Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell. A few years ago, they drafted Jalen Carter. If you look at this defense, most of the pieces have actually been drafted and developed by the franchise. Campbell clearly fits into that mold despite a small, three-game sample size. Andrew Mukuba also looks like a budding star, but what Campbell has been able to do is next level.

The Eagles are fortunate to have him and despite all of the losses of the offseason, they haven't really been felt too harshly at this point. It's obviously still early, but adding a guy who has superstar potential like Campbell does help to hide the holes caused by the offseason.

This front office is on a heater right now. How will they follow up? You already know Roseman is probably cooking up something behind the scenes.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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