Jack Campbell
Detroit LionsModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 17 games
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.
Comps
STM Take
Tier 8 (#89) rookie to tier 7 (#50) to tier 1 (#2) in 2025 is one of the steepest LB developmental arcs in recent memory. The Iowa 2022 Butkus Award plus the 18th overall draft slot plus the Lions' Dan Campbell defensive scheme appears to be the catalyst. The 2026 question is whether Campbell earns his first Pro Bowl plus holds tier 1 territory or whether the 2025 finish was a one-year context spike.
Campbell came out of Iowa as the Detroit Lions' 1st-round pick (18th overall) in 2023 after winning the 2022 Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker. The Lions installed him in the starting MLB role from his rookie year. His STTM career runs tier 8 (#89) rookie, tier 7 (#50) sophomore, and tier 1 (#2) breakout in 2025, a 87-spot two-year STTM climb.
Strengths
- 2022 Butkus Award plus the 18th overall draft slot plus the 87-spot two-year STTM climb establishes elite college and developmental foundation.
- Tier 1 (#2) breakout for an 18th overall LB pick in year three confirms the structural top-5 ceiling exists.
Concerns
- Single tier 1 finish without prior top-30 STTM history raises the question of whether the 2025 jump is structural or one-year context.
- Detroit's broader defensive identity around the Hutchinson primary pass-rush priority puts continued Campbell production partly outside his control.
What to watch: Whether Campbell earns his first Pro Bowl in 2026 plus holds tier 2 or better, the threshold for confirming the 2025 breakout was structural.