Combine Capsule: Jack Campbell

Iowa LB Lights Up Combine with Strong Performance

Iowa Unanimous Consensus All-American LB Jack Campbell. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Jack Campbell secured his college legacy as one of Iowa's all-time greats. This week, he began working towards making a name for himself in the NFL. 

The Hawkeye linebacker tested off the charts at the draft scouting combine in Indianapolis. He opened eyes and boosted his stock. 

The Cedar Falls, Iowa native became the program's 13th unanimous consensus all-American in '22. He was the first Hawkeye to win the Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker. He totaled 271 tackles the last two seasons, the most stops in the country during that time. 

There was no doubting the on-field production coming into the combine. Leaving it, questions about athleticism and speed had been addressed.  

Jack Campbell was 1 of only 3 players in CFB in 2022 with at least:

• 115 total tkls
• 50 solo tkls
• 2 INTs
• forced fumble

Then his combine metrics (of LBs):
• 20-yd Shuttle - 4.24 sec (1st)
• 3-Cone - 6.74 sec (1st)
• Broad Jump - 10’8 (2nd)

Athleticism meets tape. pic.twitter.com/xdmDXrmL45

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) March 3, 2023

Campbell (6-5, 249) shined bright analytically. Next Gen Stats rated him the most athletic player at his position. He also stood out in Relative Athletic Score (RAS), drawing comparisons to future hall-of-famer T.J. Watt and Leighton Vander Esch, an all-pro as a rookie in '18. 

Iowa's Jack Campbell is the only linebacker since 2003 to measure in over 6'4, jump more than 37" in the vertical, 10'8" in the broad jump, and run a sub-4.70 40.

Campbell holds the top NGS athleticism score (89) among LBs at this year's combine.@HawkeyeFootball | #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/aLgHWndsKj

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 3, 2023

He ranked among the top players in position drills. He finished with the best scores in the 3-Cone (6.74 seconds) and 20-Yard Shuttle (4.24), was second in the broad jump (10 feet, 8 inches) and third in vertical jump (37.5 inches) among linebackers.  

Those results contradict a pre-combine scouting report on NFL.com that states  Campbell "lacks the short-area burst and reactive athleticism teams typically look for from NFL starters." 

The report concludes by saying, "What you see is what you get with Campbell, and teams will need to balance the consistency with the playmaking limitations in their evaluations."

Campbell gave scouts plenty to evaluate. Early mock drafts that go beyond the first round have shown a wide variance in how they believe he is viewed. 

Here's a look at a few of them: 

Luke Easterling, USA Today - 2nd RD, No. 52 overall, Seattle

Chad Reuter, NFL.com - 3rd RD, No. 83 overall, Seattle 

WalterFootball.com - 2nd RD, No. 43 overall, New York Jets

Pro Football Focus - 2nd RD, No. 57 overall, New York Giants

Damian Parson, Draft Network - 2nd RD, No. 56 overall, Detroit

The Athletic's Dane Brugler released his pre-combine Top 100 overall players available in the draft. He put Campbell at No. 73.