Detroit Lions star Jack Campbell got robbed in ESPN’s latest NFL rankings
Jack Campbell just got paid like one of the NFL’s best linebackers. ESPN doesn’t seem convinced. Its latest rankings put the Lions star behind multiple players despite a First-Team All-Pro season. Here’s why the list has fans raising eyebrows.
The Detroit Lions just locked up linebacker Jack Campbell with a 4-year, $81 million deal in May, and ESPN responded by ranking him 5th on its list of the top 10 off-ball linebackers in the NFL. That ranking, based on conversations with executives, scouts, and coaches around the league, feels flat-out wrong. Campbell was the second-highest-graded linebacker in the NFL with a 90.2 Pro Football Focus grade. He was a first-team All-Pro. And somehow three guys with worse numbers landed ahead of him.
Let’s break it down.
Fred Warner deserves No. 1
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner came in at No. 1, and there’s nothing to argue there. Warner is the best off-ball linebacker in the entire league. Not an iota of disagreement from me on that one. He’s earned that spot and continues to earn it.
The rest of the list gets messy
No. 2 is Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith. I get it. Smith has traditionally been that good, and his reputation carries weight. But his 2025 season, while fine, wasn’t Jack Campbell’s 2025 season. This one feels like a legacy ranking more than anything else.
No. 3 is where it gets ridiculous. Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger landed at 3 after one year in the league. His rookie season was solid. A 74.4 PFF grade, 18 pressures, three sacks, 106 tackles, two interceptions, a pass breakup, and a 98.7 passer rating allowed. That’s pretty good. But a personnel executive in ESPN’s piece compared him to Luke Kuechly after just one season. We’re going crazy here.
No. 4 is Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun, who had an 80.9 PFF grade, 18 pressures, four sacks, 88 tackles, two interceptions, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a 73.2 passer rating allowed. Baun had a good year. He’s a good player. But he’s not Jack Campbell good.
Campbell’s numbers speak for themselves
Jack Campbell finished with a 90.2 PFF grade, 110 solo tackles (4th in the league and more than anyone ranked above him), 17 pressures, five sacks (more than all three guys ahead of him), three forced fumbles, and two pass breakups. He didn’t have an interception, and that’s fine. Everything else he did was No. 2 across the board and No. 1 in several categories.
ESPN’s own article acknowledged Campbell’s rise, noting his 176-tackle (combined) season was the most for a Lions player since Chris Spielman in 1994. It highlighted his 40% run-stop win rate, which ranked 5th among linebackers. Detroit knew what it had when it drafted Campbell 18th overall in 2023, and he’s gotten better every single year since.
> “Excellent football IQ, tough, physical, plays downhill, instinctive, aware leader, throwback football player,” a veteran AFC assistant coach said.
That quote is from the same article that ranked him 5th. You can understand why that feels contradictory.
Campbell should have been No. 2
I’m going to say it. Jack Campbell should have been No. 2 on this list. Smith wasn’t Campbell-good last season. Baun wasn’t Campbell good. And ranking Schwesinger at 3 over a first-team All-Pro after one rookie season is projecting what Schwesinger might be rather than evaluating what he is right now.
If the thought process is that Campbell capped out last season, that’s the wrong way to go about it. He has improved every year since entering the league. Schwesinger might turn into something special. He might be great. But that doesn’t mean Campbell just stops being good.
When this ranking gets revisited next year, Campbell looks like a strong candidate for No. 2 — and depending on how next season goes, maybe even No. 1.
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