As Jihaad Campbell’s playing time decreased, his focus on NFL life off the field remained vigilant.
The rookie first-round pick took a back seat when Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean returned from injury and slid back into his starting role. Dean’s play cut into Campbell’s playing time. By Week 13, his defensive snap count dropped to zero. But off the field, the 21-year-old Campbell kept to a schedule and made “mature decisions,” he said.
He went to bed early, made sure to keep up a normal recovery routine, and watched a lot of film, knowing that at any moment his number could be called for an increased role.
That proverbial tap on the helmet came last Saturday vs. Washington, when Dean went down with a hamstring injury that will keep him out of Sunday’s game in Buffalo and give Campbell his first start in two months. Campbell had six combined tackles in 36 defensive snaps, and two of those tackles were run stops.
Campbell briefly moonlighted at outside linebacker when the Eagles were missing multiple players. He talked last month, after losing his starting inside job, about keeping the right mindset.
“The biggest thing is just staying prepared, not getting down, and just understanding the game plan and what has to happen,” he said in November. “So when it is my time to go in the game, I know exactly what I have to do, when I have to do it, with full confidence.”
The unwavering off-field focus, Campbell said, comes from his upbringing.
“It’s just in me,” the Erial, N.J., native said Wednesday. “It’s been instilled in me ever since I’ve been a young kid. I have a great foundation and support system back home.
“It’s just all about knowing my responsibility, knowing that I have to be accountable for my own actions and what I want to do for my career to come.”
Campbell’s first NFL season and all that comes with it seems to be coming at warp speed for the 31st pick in April’s draft.
“I look up now and it’s Week 15, Week 16 of my rookie year,” he said. “It’s moving fast; it’s moving pretty quickly. It’s all about just squeezing the lemon as much as I can in this first year.”
The team awaiting Campbell in his first start since Oct. 26 will test how much juice he’s produced.
Running back James Cook leads the NFL in rushing, and Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks at using his legs. Buffalo has a dynamic running game that allows Allen some opportunities to use his arm, too. Dean was especially impactful against the run and as a blitzer in recent weeks, and the Eagles likely will need the same out of Campbell on Sunday. He has one quarterback hit and zero sacks on the season.
“It’s all about what we do,” Campbell said when asked about the challenge of Allen and the Bills.
While Dean is out, the Eagles will get Jalen Carter back after he missed the previous three games with shoulder injuries. Carter should provide a boost, even in a limited role. But the Eagles have played some of their best defense of the 2025 season in the weeks after Dean returned.
It will be on Campbell to help make sure that level of play continues.
