Jihaad Campbell can be a Gamechanger in the NFL

Jihaad Campbell burst onto the scene in Tuscaloosa during his sophomore season and built on it during his junior-year campaign with the Crimson Tide. He is viewed as the most likely first-round pick from Alabama in this year's NFL draft, which begins on Thursday. Campbell will be in attendance alongside Jalen Milroe and Tyler Booker in Wisconsin on Thursday.

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Campbell's most likely landing spot, according to mock drafts, is the Cincinnati Bengals at pick 17 in the first round. The NFL seems to love Campbell's versatility at inside linebacker and his ability to drop down and rush the passer off the edge. The Crimson Tide utilized that skillset several times last season, leading to Campbell's team-leading five sacks last season.

According to the NFL's draft grades, Campbell will eventually be a plus starter in the league. However, his ascent into the early first-round conversation could lead to him playing meaningful snaps early in his NFL career.

Campbell led the Crimson Tide with 117 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks last season on an Alabama defense that was a top-ten unit in college football for the first time since 2017. NFL draft expert Daniel Jeremiah weighed in on Campbell potentially heading to Cincinnati at Pick 17.

"Jihaad Campbell, I love. I know he's been a little-he's physically beat up coming into the process, so you have to have your medical group be comfortable there that he's going to be fine, and once we get to the season," Jeremiah said.

"To me, he's dynamic. He's versatile off the ball, on the ball. Big-time speed. For a team that's going to be playing against Baltimore and trying to climb that mountain every year, I think he matches up well with them, when you think about somebody who can come downhill and get Derrick Henry on the ground. You could spy him against Lamar. And he can close down and try and suck him up on the perimeter. And then if you want to, you can let him rush off the edge. So he can do a lot of different things. I think
he would be a heck of a pick there if he were to get to pick No. 17."

Campbell ended his Alabama career with 186 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.