Fact or Fiction: Jack Campbell Did Not Have Good Rookie Season

Can Campbell take second-year leap in Aaron Glenn's defense?

Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46). / Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Lions selecting Jack Campbell in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft came as a shock to many pundits. Detroit seemingly reached on a player without taking positional value into account.

Since then, we've learned that Lions general manager Brad Holmes prioritizes the appeal of a player and his fit within the organization over positional value. However, the pick of Campbell was not reviewed highly.

The Iowa product had his struggles as a rookie. The jump from college to the NFL seemed to be tough for him, especially early in the season. Detroit also tried him in multiple spots, including off-the-ball and as the team's SAM linebacker.

ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes pointed out that Campbell struggled in his first year during a recent appearance on Woodward Sports' 'Woodward Heavyweights.'

“I did not love his tape last season to be honest, so I guess this is where we get to the negative part. Just to be honest, I don’t think he had a good rookie year, but I think it’s worth mentioning that very few off-ball linebackers seem to do well when they come into the NFL these days," Kimes said. "I think a lot of that has to do with offensive coordinators like Ben Johnson, who really isolate them and make their lives hell. It’s very hard to play linebacker right now in the NFL, because of all the motions and the RPO-centric offenses and everything that offensive coordinators do on that front."

Campbell finished his first year with 95 total tackles, two sacks and five tackles for loss. The Iowa product certainly had his struggles, but appeared to improve throughout the latter part of the season.

As Kimes pointed out, the difficulties that Campbell had in his first season may point to a larger issue of the struggles that rookie linebackers have adjusting to the speed of the NFL game.

"There’s very few examples of players who have come in and played that position at a high level early," Kimes said. "To answer your question, I think the hope is this is a very hard position and year two you’re gonna make a step, because of that experience and the mental adjustment and that development curve which is, again, something we just see across the NFL at that position.” 

Though Campbell indeed took his lumps, the Lions still have high hopes for him. As linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard pointed out during OTAs, the Iowa product's coachability and discipline traditionally lend itself to a big jump year after year.

“Jack’s one of the most coachable players I’ve ever been around in my life," Sheppard said. "I’m talking as a player or coaching. You could literally tell him the sky is green right now, he’ll say, ‘Yes sir.’ I’m like, ‘Jack, no it’s not. Why’d you say that?’ He’s just got that level of respect for authority, and it’s just the way he lives his life to be honest. So, it makes it easier when you take guys in like that as a coach, trying to set standards, trying to show guys the way you do things."

Sheppard heaped plenty of praise for the linebacker, explaining that he showed maturity in how he approached the offseason. Though it will be hard to tell the nature of Campbell's improvement until training camp, the coach has been impressed with what he saw during spring workouts.

"It’s hard to get a full tell, obviously, physically on the linebacker position during this time of year, due to the physical nature that we play, especially here," Sheppard explained. "But, he’s exceeded my expectations, which were already high. He’s come back further along than where I expected, because you don’t have meetings during the gap from the last game to now. Really, those guys with the length of the season, him coming off a rookie campaign and all that stuff, typically you see those guys take a chunk of time off and come in still raw.

"But, this player, you could tell, dove right back into it. Even told me, took minimal time off. I’m sure his fiancee hated it, but he got right back engulfed in ball and it’s paying off for him right now. With Alex being out the majority of the offseason, Jack led the huddle, made the calls, everybody looked to him. He was making the checks, and to be honest, he set the tone for the offseason defensively.”