Some people really don't know how good Jack Campbell is about to be for the Lions, some in high places do

The Detroit Lions are soon going to be taking a trip to extension town, where a bunch of players get extensions and everyone is happy. 

We always talk about a certain group of Detroit Lions players who live in extension town. It's the usual guys. We're talking Aidan Hutchinson, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Brian Branch. But there's one more guy who lives there, and he's pretty good, but he's never really talked about. It's almost like he's the Grinch, and he lives up in the mountains outside of extension town. That's Jack Campbell. 

We just don't talk about Campbell like he's one of these elite or close to being elite tier players. It's probably because while he's been good, he didn't immediately jump into the elite or close to elite conversation like the rest of the guys in town. But he's been heading that way more and more each year. 

ESPN got together with NFL executives, coaches, and scouts to rank the top 10 on-ball linebackers in the NFL on Tuesday, and while Campbell did not make the top 10 list, the people making the list believe he's going to very soon. 

"Huge and violent. Better in coverage than given credit but not great there. A key-and-diagnose player. Good fit for Dan Campbell." -- NFL personnel evaluator. "He's a riser. Not sure he's there yet but will be soon. Coverage wasn't all the way there."-- NFC executive

Campbell drastically improved in coverage after he was a bit off in his rookie season. For example, Pro Football Focus gave him a 35.3 coverage grade in his rookie season. He had a 74.2 grade in his second year. That was the 17th highest grade among linebackers. 

There's room to grow for sure, as noted, but he made some really serious growth there. Speaking of PFF, they had him ranked as their eighth-best linebacker going into the 2025 season. There are clearly expectations from a lot of analysts and people in the NFL that Campbell is about to have a big year for Detroit. 

If he does, he's going to come down the mountain, and instead of his heart growing three sizes, his paycheck could be the thing that grows multiple sizes.