The Major Reason Eagles Rookie Linebacker Jihaad Campbell is Winning Over Vic Fangio

The Philadelphia Eagles don’t exactly have an illustrious history of rookie linebackers winning starting roles immediately. But, Eagles first-round pick Jihaad Campbell is primed to break that mold.

In Week 2 of the preseason, Campbell seemed to always be around the football on his way to four total tackles, one sack, and one tackle for loss in the Eagles’ 22-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Afterwards, the former Alabama standout and No. 25 overall pick in this spring’s draft explained how the game is starting to slow down for him after just two exhibition outings.

“It’s a day by day process,” Campbell told reporters, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “When you think about it, just being that versatile piece on the edge, off the edge, playing off-ball (linebacker). I just really appreciate coach Vic (Fangio) and all the other defensive coaches just to grant me the opportunity to learn and grow. Just keep understanding the whole defensive scheme and really the whole defensive playbook so I can continue to go out there and make plays with my other teammates.”

That versatility of thriving as an off-ball linebacker as well as offering defensive coordinator Vic Fangio the flexibility to rush the passer off the edge are going to go a long way not just to making Campbell the sixth Eagles rookie linebacker since 1965 to open the season in the starting lineup but also a valuable weapon in Philadelphia’s defense.

“He needs a lot of work at it,” Fangio recently told reporters, of Campbell’s developing pass rush ability. “Again, that’s going back to the previous question that’s adding things to his plate right now and in defense of him, he hadn’t been coached up enough to be on the edge and play the way we want to play.

“So part of that’s him being overloaded, part of that’s us not getting him ready, which is just a product of lack of time and lack of reps.”

That work off the edge seems to already be paying off for Fangio, Campbell, and the Eagles.

Nick Sirianni Lauds Eagles Rookie Andrew Mukuba

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni isn’t quite ready to publicly announce who will be opening the regular season alongside Reed Blankenship at safety, but second round rookie Andrew Mukuba seems to have taken a major leap towards securing that job.

Mukuba was stellar in coverage against the Cleveland Browns, including returning a Dillon Gabriel interception for a touchdown.

“I always thought that he has a knack for the football,” Sirianni told reporters, of Mukuba. “Any time you go out there and make a play, that’s big. That was exciting, the interception. And even the one when he was there for the fumble recovery after they had a missed exchange.

“Guys that have a knack for the football just find ways to be around the football.”

The former University of Texas standout did exactly that against Cleveland, which was all the more impressive because the 5-foot-11 and 185-pound safety had been limited for much of training camp this summer by a shoulder injury.

If Mukuba closes out the preseason slate and training camp practices this summer, there’s a strong chance that he’ll be roaming the deep secondary in a young and ascending Eagles defensive back’s room when the NFL season opens against the Dallas Cowboys.