History Made!

Finally, Jerry Robinson can pass the baton.

Robinson, a former Eagles inside linebacker, has been known for decades as “the last off-ball linebacker taken by the Eagles in the first round.”

The Eagles picked Robinson, a UCLA product, 21st overall in 1979.

But that changed Thursday night when the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles used the penultmate pick in the first round on Alabama inside linebacker Jihaad Campbell, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound South Jersey native who played at Timber Creek in Gloucester Township before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior season.

GETTY IMAGES: For the first time since 1979, the Eagles used a first-rounder on an ILB, taking Alabama product Jihaad Campbell.

Campbell is an incredible athlete who ran a 4.52 40-yard dash and logged the second-best broad jump among linebackers at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Eagles personnel chief Howie Roseman, the team’s executive vice president of football operations, said in a press conference after the pick that Campbell shouldn’t just be labeled as an off-ball linebacker, noting Campbell’s ability and track record at Alabama of also rushing the quarterback.

“I don’t want to put this player in that box,” Roseman said. “This guy can grow into whatever you want.”

The Eagles traded up one spot with the Chiefs, the team they beat in Super Bowl LIX, to land Campbell and end their longtime drought of avoiding that positional altogether in the first round.

Campbell was widely viewed as an upper first-round prospect but teams were concerned about his medicals. Campbell is coming off shoulder surgery for a torn labrum in March – after he participated in the NFL Scouting Combine – and might not be ready for the start of the 2025 season, which creates some uncertainty for Eagles off-ball linebacker group that’s not very deep and has others also coming back from injuries.

With starter Nakobe Dean coming off surgery in November on a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, the Eagles only have All-Pro Zack Baun – who signed a blockbuster extension this offseason – and second-year pro Jeremiah Trotter Jr.  as the top two on the depth chart.

Dean, a 2022 third-round pick, emerged this past season as a leader and emerging standout on Vic Fangio’s defense but he’s had multiple stints on Injured Reserve during his three-year career, has undergone multiple surgeries and enters the final year of his deal.

GETTY IMAGES: Alabama ILB product Jihaad Campbell, a South Jersey native, was considered a top-end prospect who slid because of medical questions.

It’s logical to think that Campbell, if healthy, will at very least be a starter by his second season if not as a rookie. But Campbell has battled injuries throughout his Alabama career.

Campbell earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2024, totaling 117 tackles with 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, an interception, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

Because of his speed and athleticism, Campbell could be used as a situational pass-rusher for Fangio, who doesn’t blitz much but likes to use second-level defenders as part of his four-man rush when dropping his edge rushers into coverage.

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com