The Philadelphia Eagles' 2024 draft class was awesome. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were in the running for defensive rookie of the year. Jalyx Hunt was a developmental player, and he ended up getting half a sack in the Super Bowl. Will Shipley didn’t get a whole lot of playing time, but you could see his burst when he came in for Saquon Barkley and Kenny Gainwell. It was just really, really good.
That means there are some lofty expectations for the Eagles’ 2025 draft class. Luckily, the defensive coaching staff didn’t get vultured by other teams after the Super Bowl, and that means the rookies have an opportunity to develop, meet those expectations, and then just flat-out be the best.
Is there a Defensive Rookie of the Year on the Eagles roster?
If the Eagles have a Defensive Rookie of the Year, there’s a really good chance that means the entire defense is firing on all cylinders. As much as that award just goes to a single player, all of the guys around him have to be playing at a high level for that rookie to be able to shine.
Now, the thing about the DROY is that it almost always goes to first-round picks. Of the last 30 DROYs, only three of them have been second-round picks: Shaquille Williams (2018), DeMeco Ryans (2006), and Kendrell Bell (2001). That means, historically, the Eagles' best shot is with Jihaad Campbell, their first-round linebacker from Alabama.
There were 14 defensive players drafted in the first round of the 2025 draft, and some of the guys that Campbell will get compared to are bona fide studs.
The Giants drafted edge rusher Abdul Carter, and he gets to play next to Dexter Lawrence. That means he’s set up for success. Unfortunately for him, the Giants are bad. For an edge rusher to win DROY, they’re going to have to get a lot of touches on quarterbacks. Offenses are going to have to pass for edge rushers to touch quarterbacks. Offenses pass when they are down in games, and teams are rarely going to be down against the Giants.
The Browns drafted defensive tackle Mason Graham, and he gets to play next to Myles Garrett. It’s a lot of the same as with Carter and the Giants. For Graham to put up DROY numbers, the Browns are going to have to be winning… that doesn’t happen.
The Jaguars drafted cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter. He’s a different story because we have no idea if the Jaguars are going to have him play both ways, or just on offense or defense. If they chose to have him major in defense rather than offense, he’s got the ball skills to be a DROY.
Then there’s Jihaad Campbell. For him, the main part is going to be how quickly he gets healthy. Vic Fangio doesn’t play guys, even if they’re better than their backups, if they don’t know the defense.
Cooper DeJean had a weird injury at the beginning of last offseason and didn’t get a whole training camp. Because of that, he didn’t get a whole workload on defense until Week 6. The Eagles have Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who can start the season if he needs to. If Campbell has a DROY campaign that will outdo Travis Hunter’s interceptions, he’s probably going to need to play the entire season.
Campbell also has the benefit of playing in the best defense in the NFL for the best defensive coordinator in the NFL. Getting set up for success and being around a bunch of dudes will make everything a whole lot easier.
On top of that, Campbell can also be an edge rusher. We don’t know if he will be or how often he will be, but that is in his bag. The thing to remember is that the Eagles were trying to trade up from 32 to the mid-20s in order to pick him. This is the first time that the Eagles drafted a linebacker in 45 years, and it seems out of character for Howie Roseman to try to trade up 10-ish draft picks to draft a guy who can only be a linebacker.
If he can be a dominant coverage linebacker (which he is) and also touch the quarterback as an edge, there’s a really good chance that he gives Quinyon Mitchell a run for his money for the best defensive rookie season by an Eagle in the Howie Roseman era.