PHILADELPHIA, P.A. — Vic Fangio spent part of Tuesday doing what defensive coordinators often do when reporters start sniffing around a lineup change: clarifying, downplaying, and perhaps even adding some revisionism to what's going on at the linebacker position in Philadelphia.
Yes, the Eagles planned to get Jeremiah Trotter Jr. on the field for some snaps opposite Zack Baun against the Jaguars in London.
The Eagles’ defensive coordinator confirmed as much at his weekly press briefing on Tuesday. However, Fangio said there was no plan to start Trotter over Campbell—a claim the veteran defensive mind called “an out-and-out lie.”
The new rotation never got off the ground after Trotter was ejected after scuffling with Jacksonville linebacker Bryan Thomas Jr. on the opening kickoff.
Because of circumstances, Campbell started in and finished the 19-17 loss to the Jags, playing 62 of the 72 defensive snaps. His 47.6 overall grade on Pro Football Focus was not impressive, and when asked about the second-year player’s performance by Eagles On SI, Fangio claimed Campbell “played okay.”
That’s not a ringing endorsement coming off the news that Trotter has earned more playing time with a nice performance against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4.
It’s also not a reason to start treating a 22-year-old 2025 first-round pick like a developmental project who’s running out of runway, or at least it shouldn’t be.
Pushing for a role: Why the Eagles can't bench Jihaad Campbell yet
Campbell arrived in Philadelphia with the kind of size, speed, and length that make personnel executives take notice (6-foot-3, 235 lbs, and a 4.52-second 40-yard dash). The Alabama product also produced as a rookie when given the chance, posting 80 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery while earning All-Rookie recognition and grading out as the No. 15 of 88 LBs ranked by PFF.
This season, the PFF grades are shaky (No. 61 of 72), and coverage has been an issue at times. That’s real. It’s also the normal growing-pain portion of a young linebacker’s career, not a referendum on Campbell's ceiling.
Trotter, a more instinctive but less athletic option, has earned more playing time. Fangio is right about that. When Baun was out against the Rams, the local legacy as the son of the "Axe Man," Jeremiah Trotter Sr., filled in and delivered a 15-tackle day.
Fangio is a stickler for fundamentals and discipline, so it’s no surprise he seems to be gravitating toward the safer option who understands the scheme better.
A series-based rotation that keeps both fresh and gives Fangio a different look could be smart football and good roster management. However, linebacker is typically not a rotational position, so this can’t turn into a soft benching or even a signal that Campbell is on a short leash.
Learning from the past
The Eagles moved on from the popular Nakobe Dean in free agency specifically to clear a path for Campbell. They traded up to draft him. They have already seen the traits—range, closing speed, the ability to blitz from different spots—that made him a first-round investment.
Linebackers who combine that athletic profile with the mental processing required in a Fangio defense do not grow on trees. You don’t accelerate that process by taking away snaps and eroding the confidence of a potential difference-maker.
Fangio has been careful not to draw comparisons to previous situations, like veteran Oren Burks holding off Trotter when Dean was injured on the road to Super Bowl LIX.
Campbell is not Dean, but he’s younger and more explosive, while still learning the nuances of Fangio’s complicated scheme.
Young players with Campbell’s upside improve when they play, not when they watch. Competition is healthy; the systematic reduction of a role is how you waste a draft pick.
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