PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles did make a first-round trade in the NFL Draft after all, trading up one spot to the Kansas City Chiefs and selecting Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell with the No. 31 overall pick.
Philadelphia traded the No. 32 pick and No. 164 pick (fifth round) to Kansas City for No. 31. The Eagles had four fifth-round picks entering the draft and still have three remaining (No. 161, No. 165, No. 168).
Campbell had 117 tackles last season, the most for any Alabama player since DeMeco Ryans in 2003. He is the first off-ball linebacker picked by the Eagles in the first round since Jerry Robinson in 1979 — ending a 46-year drought by the franchise. Campbell also led Alabama in tackles for loss (11.5), sacks (five) and forced fumbles (two).
While Campbell is an off-ball linebacker, he can also rush the passer as an undersized edge rusher. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio can utilize Campbell in a variety of ways, playing him with Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun at off-ball linebacker adding him to an edge rusher group with Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Azeez Ojulari, Josh Uche and Bryce Huff.
With the Campbell selection, five of the last six Eagles first-round picks are from Georgia or Alabama — four of which are on the defensive side of the ball.
Add Comment