The Lions are coming off a season when they landed four All-Pro selections, and are looking to improve that number in 2025.
Last year, the Lions had Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, Kerby Joseph and Jack Fox on the NFL All-Pro first team, tied for the most of any team. This mark tied the 1991 Lions for the most in franchise history.
While there are many candidates to become first-time All-Pros for Detroit, one player stands out on the trajectory to stardom in 2025.
Jack Campbell will be an All-Pro selection for the first time in 2025
Jack Campbell is coming off his sophomore season, where he was asked to do more than most linebackers in the league, and he still produced a career-best season.
Campbell's rookie year was 2023, when he was on and off the field and wasn't playing the best ball. Linebacker, as well as cornerback, is a position widely known as tough to play when first coming into the league, and Jack felt those growing pains.
PFF gave Campbell a 52.1 grade in his rookie season, including an abysmal 35.3 coverage grade. Campbell was selected at pick No. 18 in the 2023 draft and, per usual with Brad Holmes picks, was criticized for being drafted too early according to analysts.
"Campbell can be a productive leader for the Lions, but -- again -- he was picked earlier than I expected," said Chad Reuter, NFL Draft analyst at NFL.com. "I had him as a second-round value."
After Campbell's rookie year, these draft analysts felt vindicated for their draft night takes, and were right to feel that way at the time, but Campbell's sophomore season was a completely different story.
To set the scene, nearly every single linebacker surrounding Jack Campbell got injured in his sophomore season. Alex Anzalone missed months, Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez each had season-ending injuries leaving Campbell alone with practice-squad players.
Regardless of his lack of help at a position where you need it, Campbell was fantastic. PFF gave the second-year linebacker a 77.4 overall grade, an 81.5 run defense grade, and a 72.2 coverage grade, all good for the top 25 at the position.
Campbell found himself on PFF's "highest graded linebackers of 2024" list at No. 10, cementing himself as one of the best linebackers in the game.
While he wasn't selected as an All-Pro in 2024, he is well on his way to that achievement in 2025. From a struggling rookie year to an outstanding sophomore season, while being the only healthy first or second-string linebacker on the field is ultra-impressive.
Once his supporting cast joins the fold in 2025, look out for superstardom for third-year linebacker Jack Campbell.
