PHILADELPHIA — When the Philadelphia Eagles traded up a spot to select Jihaad Campbell at No. 31 overall, the front office had a good idea at the player they were getting. This is more than just on the field accolades.
Sure Campbell had 117 tackles last season at Alabama, the most for any player in a season for the Crimson Tide since DeMeco Ryans in 2003. The Eagles had a good idea what they were getting off the field as well.
The desire to be the best drives Campbell. He wants to be good in everything he does.
“I always had that mentality. Really, it might have been when I came out the womb,” Campbell said early Friday morning in a post-draft presser. “I always wanted to be the best version of myself each and every day. I had family members and a great support system with the foundation that always pushed me to be the best version of myself.
“So I never look at anything other than that. So each day, I’m trying to figure out ways of how can I maximize pass rush, how can I maximize my footwork, my tackling. Keep my path open.”
Campbell isn’t shy about his desire to be the best version of himself, something the Eagles noticed in their one interview with him in the pre-draft process. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman relies on his senior advisor/chief security officer Dom DiSandro to evaluate these players’ character.
Campbell certainly stood out.
“I rely on Dom to get to know these kids and he knows all these kids and the background that they come from,” Roseman said. “I don’t have any doubt about this player’s character, this player’s work ethic, or this player’s desire to win.”
The Eagles don’t think a transition back to being a pass rusher will affect Campbell, since he wants to be a master at any position he learns. When Alabama switched him to off-ball linebacker, Campbell embraced the change and excelled.
He became a natural coverage player due to his desire to learn.
“There was just a want, you know, a want to learn,” Campbell said. “I want to win. I think that was the main thing. Just being around like minded guys like me, they would push me and they would help mej, ust educate me along with different things.
“Self confidence is everything. That’s what I have, a certain type of tenacity I bring to the game and that’s how I play the game.”
This news was originally published on this post .
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