Jack Campbell selected by Detroit Lions in the NFL Draft
After winning just about every award out there for a linebacker, Jack Campbell got his ultimate reward when he was selected by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Campbell was a consensus three star recruit coming out of high school according to On3.coms’s industry rankings. There were some who thought that Campbell might be too tall to play linebacker at the college level, but he proved those doubters wrong early on in his career.
During the recruiting process, Campbell picked Iowa over Iowa State, Minnesota, and Northern Iowa, where his father played in college. In his first season, Campbell primarily played on special teams and had five total tackles on the season.
Then in the 2020 Covid season, Campbell played in five of Iowa’s eight games. He had 29 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and one interception. His true breakout season was in 2021 when he had 143 tackles, one forced fumble, one sack, and he scored one touchdown on a fumble recovery against Iowa State. For his efforts, Campbell was named first team All Big Ten and second team All American by the Football Writers Association of America and Phil Steele. He was also named MVP of the Iowa defense that season.
This past season, Campbell came into the year with high expectations on an individual level and met nearly all of them. He had 128 tackles, including 5.5 for loss and one sack. He had two interceptions and one sack. He was named the winner of the Butkus Award, which goes to the top linebacker in the country. Campbell was a consensus All American, named Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and was named the winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy.
Campbell is the 83rd Iowa player drafted by the NFL during the Ferentz era. He is the 13th first round pick and the 10th linebacker picked in the Ferentz era.
