Vic Fangio just made a quiet but telling move with Jihaad Campbell at Eagles camp

The Philadelphia Eagles completed their final day of training camp, and it did not end in disappointment. A lot was revealed about the team that shows signs of what's to come in 2025, thanks to a depth chart move by Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

Multiple Eagles reporters observed from Wednesday's workout that rookie first-round pick linebacker Jihaad Campbell might have jumped Jeremiah Trotter Jr. on the depth chart as he took first-team reps. Bleeding Green Nation's Brandon Lee Gowton shared the linebacker battle that might now be secure, with Campbell taking the lead.

"Campbell has seemingly overtaken Jeremiah Trotter Jr. on the depth chart. For the first time this summer, the 2025 first-round pick was first up as the first-team linebacker next to Zack Baun in 11-on-11s.

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. had a good summer. So did rookie Smael Mondon Jr. They were probably good enough to start at linebacker for a lot of Eagles teams in recent years (which isn’t saying a ton).

But it’s Campbell’s time to shine."

NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro also saw the same thing with Campbell taking all the first-team reps at practice.

"It was notable on Wednesday that Jihaad Campbell got all the first-team reps next to Zack Baun during team drills. Despite a really strong training camp from Jeremiah Trotter Jr., it seems obvious that Campbell is going to start the season next to Baun in Vic Fangio’s defense. Trotter on Wednesday worked exclusively with the second team."

A pleasant surprise to see Campbell take the lead at LB

Eagles fans have known about the potential that Campbell brought to the table when he first joined the team after the NFL Draft. Fast, instinctive, great in coverage, he can do it all at the linebacker position. He's not just someone who can stop the run, as he can also pressure the quarterback off the edge while swatting the ball away in pass coverage.

That's ultimately what separated him from Trotter. This isn't a knock on Trotter, who made great strides in his second training camp with the Eagles, as he could arguably be the best run-sto pping linebacker outside of Baun on the roster. Campbell can just do more in the defense than Trotter can right now.

It's more of a relief for Eagles fans to see how good the linebacker position looks now. There was much concern before training camp with Nakobe Dean and Campbell recovering from injury and the depth was up in the air.

Some might say it's the deepest position on the Eagles' defense right now. Another rookie, Mondon, has been looking good at camp and could be a guy here in the next year or two.

Whether Campbell can hold the starting linebacker job is the bigger question. Dean might return soon, but has Campbell done enough to even overtake him? Friday's preseason finale against the New York Jets might determine that.