If your gut told you that the Eagles were going to trade up or out of the first round, your instincts were correct. They moved up, one spot only, sending a 5th rounder to the Kansas City Chiefs to draft local product Jihaad Campbell at #31 overall:

Campbell had top 15 overall grades from a number of draft experts. He’s recovering from a shoulder injury, which may delay his readiness for training camp and probably contributed to his slide down the board. But, sure enough, a talented guy from Alabama was sitting there with the Eagles lurking, and Howie Roseman went the same route he did with Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, Nakobe Dean, and Jordan Davis. Value plays and/or aggressive moves on SEC guys.

Campbell was a two-year starter at Bama. Started at Timber Creek in South Jersey before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida. He is an off-ball linebacker who played a bunch of positions through high school and into college, EDGE included, so there’s some built-in versatility there. His developmental path really is not dissimilar to that of Zack Baun, who shows a lot of similar traits. Campbell finished the 2024 season with 119 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles, one interception, and 12 tackles for loss. He was first-team All-SEC in 2024 and a five star recruit coming out of high school. He’s 21 years old, 6’3″ and 235 pounds.

Ian Rapoport mentioned after the first round that the Eagles tried to trade up earlier for Campbell. Apparently they tried to get the Chargers to bite at 22 and couldn’t do it. So they kept trying and made it happen at 31 instead. Howie Roseman traditionally has not selected linebackers in the first or second round, almost ever, but they get a consensus steal here and someone who can slot in next to Baun hopefully sooner rather than later as Nakobe Dean recovers from injury.