The Eagles were close to producing a Defensive Rookie of the Year last season and there’s a chance it could happen again in 2025.

First-round pick Jihaad Campbell is anywhere from +1200 to +1500 to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

There’s a ton of time between now and Week 1, but I’d argue there’s a strong chance Campbell is in the mix until the end of the regular season.

Abdul Carter (future Eagle when his rookie deal is up) is the clear favorite at all sportsbooks to win DROY. Of course he is. He was the No. 3 overall pick and is coming off a 12-sack season at Penn State. You don’t have to be on a good team to win any Rookie of the Year award. I think team success matters more in the Rookie of the Year context with teams that improve their record year-over-year, which obviously doesn’t fit the criteria for Campbell.

Jalon Walker (Atlanta), Travis Hunter (Jacksonville), Mykel Williams (San Francisco), Shemar Stewart (Cincinnati), and Mason Graham (Cleveland) are all in the +750 to +1500 range alongside Campbell.


The only clear piece of advice I can give you is to not bet Travis Hunter for DROY. A lot of pre-draft reports suggested Hunter will start out at wide receiver and then work in at defensive back.

Additionally, only one cornerback (Sauce Gardner) won DROY in the last seven years, so yeah, spend your money on Hunter to win OROY.

Campbell had 117 tackles and five sacks in his final collegiate season at Alabama. The sacks have to be a key component of the DROY campaign because Campbell will be compared to Carter and others. He doesn’t have to lead to rookies in sacks, but he has to put up a respectable number, especially if he ends up playing on the outside.

For reference, Jared Verse had 4.5 sacks last year and Will Anderson had seven sacks in 2023. Both players made massive impacts outside of the sacks in their respective pass rushes.

We could very well fast forward to January and Carter is the overwhelming favorite to take home the hardware, but if Campbell makes a serious  impact on the Eagles defense, he will be in consideration, and his current price at NJ betting apps and PA betting apps is a fair one to take right now if you’re so inclined.