Lions rookie linebacker Jack Campbell turned in an outstanding preseason debut. Against the New York Giants in the exhibition opener, Campbell wound up earning the highest Pro Football Focus grade of any rookie defender in the entire league.
The first-rounder from Iowa got a chance to follow up the stellar game against the Giants with a heavy snap count in the second preseason game versus the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars. I went back and watched every play from Campbell, all 32 of them, and graded them out.
My grading is simple. Positive plays get a plus. Negative plays get a minus. Not every play earns a mark. Here’s an example from last season.
Campbell didn’t start the game but entered on the second defensive series. No. 46 made an impact on the very first snap, tackling rookie RB Tank Bigsby for a 5-yard gain on an interior run.
This play is a good illustration of how I grade and evaluate off-ball linebackers. Campbell is patient here and waits for the RB to choose his path before the LB reacts and quickly terminates the play. There are some that would prefer Campbell get into the hole there before Bigsby gets through it.
In this defensive scheme, Campbell did what he was tasked with — he terminated the run play. Bigsby did a fine job of falling forward and getting an extra yard or so. Because of that, I didn’t give Campbell a plus or a minus on this particular play, even though he did record the tackle. Had Bigsby not gained any yards after contact, Campbell would have earned a plus.
Again, that’s not how everyone will evaluate it, but that’s how I see it based off my understanding of the Lions’ defensive concepts and roles. Hopefully that will help the readers here understand more of the grading process I use.
Campbell earned his first plus later on the drive, in coverage. On the third down play where rookie CB Steven Gilmore gave up a long completion, Campbell did a great job in short-area coverage on Bigbsy lined up at wideout, steering him off the line and not letting him get free. Granted, the Jaguars’ play wasn’t designed to use the RB as anything more than a decoy, but that’s not Campbell’s problem; he did exactly what he needed to do.
His first minus came on the very next play, a Bigsby run to the left side. As the X (formerly Twitter) post notes, it is indeed a nice run by the Jaguars rookie RB. It’s also a terrible pursuit angle from Campbell, who gets sucked up too shallow. Campbell is speedy but he’s not fast enough to get out and make the play.
Nice run by Tank Bigsby pic.twitter.com/uyWueiGKqr
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) August 19, 2023
Contrast how Campbell trapped himself too far forward on that play with his patience and footwork on the first rep. Something there for the rookie to learn from his second preseason game that highlights the height of his jump from the Big Ten to the NFL.
Campbell finished the first quarter with four plusses and two minuses. Both negative marks came from pursuit angles in run defense. The plusses were split between coverage and run defense.
Final tally
Campbell was pretty active in his 32 reps. The rookie was outstanding in coverage, earning five plusses in 17 coverage reps despite never being targeted. Or perhaps Campbell wasn’t targeted because of how consistently strong his coverage was…
The run defense wasn’t as positive. Campbell did total six tackles in the game, but only two earned plusses. He actually earned a minus on two of them for poor angles or allowing extra yards after contact. In run defense, Campbell picked up three plusses and four minuses.
The total winds up with eight plusses and four minuses, a healthy ratio for a rookie playing in his second exhibition game. Clean up those inside-out pursuit angles and the minuses start getting erased.
Bonus grading
Just for fun, I also graded out DE John Cominsky. In 13 defensive snaps, he earned an outstanding eight plusses, including six plays in a row. He was dominant.
