Jack Campbell selected in first round of 2023 NFL Draft
Jack Campbell has been selected with the No. 18 pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.
The former Iowa Hawkeye won the Butkus Award last season as the nation’s best linebacker — the first player in program history to win the award. He’s also now the sixth first-round selection Iowa has had since the 2019 NFL Draft.
Jack Campbell is the newest Detroit Lion! pic.twitter.com/6bbj0Gdbcl
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) April 28, 2023
A 6-foot-5, 249-pound linebacker who can completely control the middle of the field, Campbell was a machine for the Hawkeyes over his final 2 years in the program. He earned back-to-back All-B1G First Team selections while posting 271 tackles. Campbell added 15 pass breakups, 13.5 tackles for loss, 5 interceptions, 3 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles during his career.
The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native was also an AP All-American and the B1G Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
At the NFL Scouting Combine in March, Campbell stunned anyone in attendance who might have been expecting a lunch-pail-type linebacker. Not only could the Hawkeye anchor a defense, but he could stand out athletically on a field full of some of the best athletes in the country. Per ESPN Next Gen Stats, Campbell was the most athletic linebacker on the field with a Relative Athletic Score of 9.98— the seventh-highest score since 1987.
In Detroit, he figures to be a central piece for a defense looking to bounce back from a disappointing display in 2022. The Lions went 9-8 last season, but fielded the 28th-ranked scoring defense in the NFL. Detroit also ranked dead last in yards per play allowed.