Jack Campbell’s rise kept rolling this offseason, and now it comes with another line on the résumé: an NFL Top 100 selection.
The Detroit Lions linebacker was ranked No. 88 on this year’s list, a notable step for a player who was already the first member of Detroit’s 2023 draft class to land an extension with the team. That came before Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch, which may have raised some eyebrows at the time. Campbell has spent the past year making sure nobody questions it now.
His 2025 season gave Detroit plenty of reasons to lock him in early. Campbell finished with 89 solo tackles, good for fourth-best on the team, along with five sacks and three forced fumbles. He was one of the few Lions defenders consistently creating pressure and turnovers, which made his extension look less like a bet and more like a reward.
NFL.com’s Top 100 writeup made the case plainly:
"Campbell made his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro team last season, emerging as the heart of the Lions defense. The off-ball linebacker’s 176 tackles ranked second in the league, but he added a little extra to his bag by more than doubling his previous career sack total of 3.5.
Campbell was PFF’s top-graded linebacker in run defense (93.0) and second-best LB overall (90.2), plus he was no slouch in coverage, finishing 12th at his position with a grade of 71.4. It’s little wonder Detroit extended him in May."
The ranking puts Campbell in the conversation with some of the league’s best off-ball linebackers, including the San Francisco 49ers’ Fred Warner and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Zack Baun. For a player entering his fourth season, simply making the list is a sign of how far he’s come.
The NFL’s pro insight on Campbell backed that up with more numbers:
"Jack Campbell set career bests in 2025 with a 15.2 quarterback pressure percentage, 100 defensive stops and seven quick quarterback pressures (under three seconds) despite blitzing a career-low 17.7%."
That pass-rush growth matters for a Lions defense that could use more answers in that area. Campbell’s ability to pressure the quarterback gives Detroit a much-needed weapon, and if Derrick Barnes can tap back into the promise the Lions saw when he moved from edge rusher to linebacker, the team could have a stronger tandem in both coverage and at the line of scrimmage.
For now, Campbell looks like the least of Kelvin Sheppard’s concerns on defense. He’s set to wear the captain’s role again in 2026, and may even have some veteran guidance to offer rookie Jimmy Rolder if Rolder climbs past Malcolm Rodriguez on the depth chart. At minimum, Campbell has already made one thing clear: he’s become a central piece of what Detroit wants to be on defense.
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