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Jack Campbell has burst onto the scene in 2025, becoming one of Detroit’s star players on the defensive side of the ball. With a PFF grade of 86.1, he’s ranked as the NFL’s 6th best linebacker.

Campbell was drafted way back in 2023, where the Lions took Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam Laporta, and Brian Branch. When Campbell was drafted 18th overall, a lot of fans and media pundits had a lot of negative things to say. Many said he was over-drafted, it was a reach based on positional value, better players were available, etc. They also said the same thing for Jahmyr Gibbs, which has already shown to be an outlandish take. Campbell was the best linebacker in the draft that year, and Holmes knew the Lions needed another stud to take over the green dot and man the middle of the defense.

His rookie season was up and down, playing just 58.8% of snaps. We didn’t really get to see a lot of him. But when we did, it was inconsistent. He had 89 total tackles on 611 total snaps, while also having 2 sacks and 7 pressures. He allowed 351 yards, 2 touchdowns and a QBR of 131.2 on 33 targets, which is obviously not ideal. He has always been a better run defender than coverage guy, as most linebackers are. However, coverage is the only place he is really lacking right now. If he gets that figured out, he could become the league’s best linebacker.

He took a step forward the following year, though, playing 89.3% of snaps and racking up 131 tackles, good enough for 19th in the NFL. He started every game, had 1.5 sacks, 13 pressures, allowed 407 yards, 1 touchdown, and a QBR of 118.7. Again, not ideal, but better than his rookie season. He also had 73 run stops, and a pressure rate of 10.0%. Overall, his sophomore season was pretty good, and showed flashes of what he could be. Lions fans could see what was coming, but still wanted to see more. More consistency, more big plays, and more snaps in general.

This season, he has taken yet another big step forward. As I mentioned before, he is currently ranked 6th among all linebackers per PFF, and 6th in tackles. He is playing even more snaps this season, at a whopping 97.7%. It’s clear he has taken over the ‘Mike’ role in our defense, and the leadership role with the patented green dot. Coverage wise, he still needs work, currently allowing a QBR of 129.6, but that will come. I also believe the stats don’t tell the whole story, as the Lions ask a lot from their linebackers in coverage. With 56 tackles, 31 stops, 2.0 sacks, and 4 pressures, he is putting himself among the best all around linebackers in the league. His versatility shows a lot too, as he has literally lined up everywhere this season. 11 snaps as the edge, 24 snaps at defensive tackle (really just lined up as a linebacker, but showing blitz), 295 snaps at linebacker, 8 snaps at the slot, and even 4 snaps at corner. Campbell is really taking a leap this year, and I expect that to continue. Coming out, he was an elite athlete for the position, and showed he had the instincts, IQ, and physicality to excel at the next level. Coming out of the draft, I saw him as a guy who can play inside, outside, and edge rusher. I expect the Lions to continue to use him all over. He is a good blitzer, and solid rusher, giving us options.

Jack Campbell went from over-drafted, to underrated. He has slowly made himself one of the better linebackers in the league, and the Lions will continue to benefit from that as his career goes on. They drafted him knowing they needed an elite middle backer, and it seems they got that. Now, he just needs to sure up his coverage, fix a few minor technique issues, and we may be looking at yet another elite player drafted by Brad Holmes.

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