Jihaad Campbell- 6 Things To Know About Eagles Draft Pick

Eagles fans had to wait 3 and a half hours into the draft, but it was worth it. It looks like the Eagles got another steal. The Eagles gave up pick 164 to move up from 32 to 31, and with the 31st pick, they took Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell.

What makes him such a good pick? Why did he fall? And could the Eagles have plans for him beyond being an off-ball LB? Here are 6 things Eagles fans should know about Jihaad Campbell.

Getting a productive player is obviously ideal. Getting a guy who was productive for Alabama is even better. Campbell was tremendous for Bama last season. His 119 sacks led the team. He also led the team with 5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Campbell boasts an elite missed tackle rate of just 5.9% and racked up 30 stops when dropping back in coverage.

He can do everything you want from a linebacker. Good vs the run, vs the pass, and as an extra rusher. He is the type of linebacker you notice at every level, and you notice getting involved in seemingly every play. His natural athleticism allows him to be all over the place and to make up for any mistakes.

Even while dealing with the labrum, he ran a 4.51 40 (3rd best for LBs), and had the 2nd best Broad Jump at 10'7". He got a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) score of 9.88 out of 10, the 41st best of any Linebacker since 1987.

Here is a look at where people had Jihaad Campbell on their draft boards.

Mel Kiper was the lowest on him, ranking him 21st. But even Kiper said Campbell has everything you want in a linebacker. The point is, few people saw him lasting until the end of the 1st round.

It is a similar story. Eagles grab a player way below where media big boards ranked them. Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean. All fell right into their laps. So far, all of them have lived up to the media hype. Will Campbell be the next guy to do that? For now, he is at least another apparent steal compared to his pre-draft rankings.

Why did he fall? The torn labrum likely played a part. And it was not the only injury red flag. There are concerns about his other shoulder and his knee.

Clearly, the Eagles looked at those and were comfortable with him. Nakobe Dean had a similar red flag in his draft, which caused him to fall to round 3, where the Eagles eventually scooped him up. Those red flags never materialized into anything. Spending a 1st on a guy with injury red flags is far riskier than spending a 3rd. But the talent might be worth whatever risk he provides.

Plus, it sounds like he will be good to go by the start of training camp.

Whenever a team picks someone, they will say he is who they wanted all along. With the Eagles, there is reason to believe it. After pick 20, there was consistent reporting the Eagles were trying hard to trade up. Specially they tried to trade up to pick 22. That trade never materialized.

But there are multiple reports, not only from the Eagles, that Jihaad Campbell was the guy the Eagles were so desperate to trade up for. The Eagles say they had a top 10 grade on him.

The Eagles haven't drafted a linebacker in the first round 1 since 1979. However, this might not be the drastic change that people initially thought it was. Because while he played inside linebacker at Bama, he has experience playing on the line, and at outside linebacker. And according to some reports, it was Cambell's ability to rush the passer that had them drooling at the concept of drafting Campbell.

So maybe they have grander plans for their first round pick than just being an inside linebacker. Or maybe seeing how much of a difference Zack Baun made last season changed their perspective on inside linebackers. But given Campbell's success last year as a blitzer, and Baun's own success as a blitzer last season, you should expect the Eagles to use him in creative ways.

His former coach, Nick Saban, is one person who thinks Campbell could be an Edge Rusher.

Howie Roseman himself told us that he might not solely be used off the ball.

Being local is like the cherry on top of the sundae. You are not going to take someone just because they are from the area. But it is nice when the best player available happens to have grown up a short drive from where you play on Sunday.

Jihaad Campbell grew up in Erial, NJ, a short 20-minute drive from Lincoln Financial Field. As you would imagine, his whole family rooted for the Eagles.

I'll ignore the way back to the Randall Cunningham days, because it makes me feel old that the 90s is now considered way back. But Campbell's family bleeds green the way all of us do. Now he gets to play for the team he grew up rooting for. That is cool.