The Eagles have barely gotten into training camp, and one of their biggest defensive experiments is already over.
Vic Fangio has decided Jihaad Campbell will stay where he belongs: at linebacker. The defensive coordinator put the edge-rusher idea to bed on the first day of camp, ending a position trial that had lingered from Campbell’s first NFL season.
Per team reporter Zach Berman, "Vic Fangio said the experiment with Jihaad Campbell on the edge is over. He might rush some, but he’s an off-ball LB for the Eagles."
That doesn’t mean Campbell will never come after the quarterback. It just means the Eagles are no longer treating him like a full-time edge project. Fangio wants the second-year defender developing as an off-ball linebacker, where the team believes his best football can show up.
The idea wasn’t pulled out of thin air. Some draft scouts thought Campbell could eventually make the jump to edge when he entered the league.
At Alabama, he lined up mostly as an off-ball linebacker, but he was at his best when he could work closer to the line of scrimmage. He also had the size to deal with offensive tackles.
Still, the college usage told the story. Campbell played only about 15% of his defensive snaps as a defensive lineman in his final season, though he was frequently used as a quarterback spy.
Philadelphia kept testing the waters last year. As a rookie, Campbell played 150 snaps on the defensive line and 514 snaps as an off-ball linebacker, according to PFF.
But the edge work faded as the season went on. He finished with fewer than 10 defensive-line snaps in each of the Eagles’ final nine games.
Even in that limited pass-rushing role, there were some encouraging signs. Campbell logged 57 pass-rushing snaps and produced 14 pressures along with 12 quarterback hurries.
Now the focus shifts fully to the linebacker spot. Campbell will still probably be used as a blitzer at times, but the Eagles don’t lean on blitzing as much as most teams. The bigger job is learning Fangio’s system from the inside out: coverage, run fits, and all the details that come with playing off the ball.
There’s reason for optimism there, too. Campbell already posted 80 tackles while working in a somewhat limited role.
With Nakobe Dean no longer ahead of him, he should see a much bigger workload this season as Philadelphia’s primary "Mike" linebacker. Hitting 100 tackles is well within reach.
And unlike last season, the Eagles are not trying to patch a hole on the edge. That gives Campbell a clearer lane and a cleaner role. Fangio has made the call early, and Campbell’s path for 2026 now looks a lot more defined.
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