Every year, it feels like the NFL Draft becomes an even bigger stage for Howie Roseman to showcase why he’s the best general manager in football, and why it drives the rest of the league crazy.
The 2025 NFL Draft was no different.
At pick No. 31, with teams scrambling and sweating, Roseman and the Eagles watched Jihaad Campbell, a Top-10 talent on many boards fall right into their lap.
And just like Jalen Carter two years ago, it almost felt unfair. Except it’s extremely fair. The same players are available for 31 other general managers to poach. What’s unfair is that 31 other teams have general managers not named Howie Roseman.
While fans from other teams groaned and front offices shook their heads, Roseman was busy once again making a team fresh off a Super Bowl title, even stronger.
Weaponizing the Defense
When the Eagles traded up one spot to secure Campbell, they weren’t just drafting a linebacker as Roseman said Thursday night, they were getting a chess piece.
“This guy can grow into anything you want,” Roseman said after the first round concluded. “The league is a speed game now, and when you have guys with explosive qualities like Jihaad, you get as many as you can.”
Campbell, a freakish 21-year-old athlete out of Alabama, isn’t just an off-ball linebacker. He’s a rusher of the quarterback. A coverage defender. A sideline-to-sideline eraser.
In a Vic Fangio defense built on disguises and versatility, he’s a perfect fit.
Oh and he’s fast. Real fast.
Crossing Bridges
For Jihaad Campbell, it was a boyhood trip down memory lane. The Camden County native grew up watching the Eagles. On Thursday, he got to put on the midnight green hat and fulfill a dream.
He called it “the rich getting richer” on the ESPN broadcast, and he wasn’t wrong.
From the SEC pipeline straight to Philadelphia, the Eagles once again found a potential cornerstone player who fits both their culture and their scheme.
Pivot and Divot
Dating back to the Andy Reid regime, the Eagles have been known for building from the inside out, a trenches approach, stockpiling linemen above all else.
But over the past year, there’s been a noticeable shift in their team-building philosophy:
- Drafting cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean to bolster the secondary with last year’s first two picks.
- An acute focus on linebackers -drafting Nakobe Dean and signing Zach Baun.
- Star valuation.
Now, Jihaad Campbell adds another layer of athleticism and unpredictability to a defense that just shut down Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl without blitzing once. The Eagles aren’t just building stronger fronts, they’re faster, smarter, and more flexible at every level.
Howie’s Secret Weapon: Intelligence
When asked if the Campbell pick was related to concerns about Nakobe Dean’s recovery, Roseman made it clear:
“We have a lot of confidence in Nakobe Dean. This had to do with the fact that we had a top-10 talent on our board. If we start drafting for need instead of taking elite players when we’re picking in the 30s, it’s not gonna be good for our football team.”
That’s the magic of Howie Roseman although its really not magic. It’s intelligence. He doesn’t chase holes. He stacks strengths. And when opportunity presents itself, whether it’s Jalen Carter in 2023 or Jihaad Campbell in 2025 – he doesn’t blink, but rather his eyes grow wide. He hunts and then he pounces like he’s roaming the tall grass of Tanzania, stalking his next kill, so that his growing den can eat.
Campbell did suffer a torn labrum during the NFL Combine, which may have contributed to his slide. But the Eagles’ medical staff cleared him, and Roseman emphasized again that this is about the long haul:
“We’re building for sustained success. This guy’s going to be a difference-maker here for a long time.”
Ah the difference maker – such a novel thought. Did you happen to notice the plethora of difference makers that led Team Howie to another Super Bowl Title last winter?
The Envy is Palpable
Across the league, fans and even media couldn’t hide their frustration:
Mina Kimes: Raw and Annoyed.
https://youtube.com/embed/bBM1CaTp1m0?si=UNZRQ-yBhdUB2vY0
It’s the same story, year after year. The Eagles reload while everyone else rebuilds.
Jihaad Campbell once almost took the Giants’ 25th pick, Jaxson Dart’s head off in a game. He’s programmed to seek and…well, watch.
The Eagles got an absolute dog, another one in a locker room already resembles a surly kennel.
Another weapon for Vic Fangio’s arsenal, to be part of a miserable destiny of affliction to unleash on opposing quarterbacks. (See Holy War below)
