Lions add Jack Campbell at No. 18

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NOV 25 Nebraska at Iowa
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The Lions have made their second pick of the first round.

Head coach Dan Campbell’s team selected linebacker Jack Campbell with the 18th overall pick of the 2023 draft. They originally held the sixth pick, but traded down to No. 12 and selected former Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs earlier in the evening.

Campbell had 128 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and two interceptions for Iowa in 2022 and he won the Dick Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. He’s the second Iowa defensive player taken in the first round as Lukas Van Ness went to the Packers with the 13th overall pick.

The Lions do not have any other first-rounders, but they have three second-round picks and a third-rounder on tap for Friday night.

19 responses to “Lions add Jack Campbell at No. 18

  1. 6’5 LB who crushed it at the combine, we needed LB. When we look at our picks in total Brad Holmes is going to nail every pick and will be contributors right away, which we need to take over the North.

  2. Hopefully Gibbs will exceed his expectations. Get rid of swift for a mid to late rd pick…but great draft pick with Campbell he will be a solid 3 down LB that is much needed on the lions defense. Hopefully Brad Holmes can work more magic in day 2

  3. I thought they’d take him for sure in the 2nd. I absolutely love this. Perfect player fit. Exciting pick for Detroit!

  4. This is a very solid choice ant 18 and will provide an upgrade for Detroit’s linebacking corps. Although the Gibbs pick seems pretty wacky, he is lightning fast, super shifty with great balance, field vision and quick feet. Definitely a home run threat at any time and a pick that probably would not have happened had there been no surprise suspension last week.

    It makes no sense to give definitive grades on the night of the draft but maybe it turns out that Williams is not the only Detroit Lion that is not afraid of gambling.

  5. Brad Holmes does well in the draft, but his trads are not to my liking. Last year he trades up to 12 for a receiver who is now suspended for 6 games and traded very good TE to a division rival for a second and third and gives up two 4th round picks. Somehow that made sense to him.

  6. If GM Brad Holmes got it right, then he drafted Alvin Kamara and a 6’5″ 2023 version of Chris Spielman.

    Lions fans aren’t going to argue about the picks once they seem them on the field.

  7. The two least valuable positions that are easy to fill later in the draft are running back and linebacker. Not saying they aren’t good players, but the value isn’t there.

  8. Lions will soon regret both 1st round picks. Their War-room is clueless IMO. Lioins will be Lions…

  9. I thought both of the Lions picks were late 1st to early second round guys, maybe they couldn’t trade back, or they know more than idiots like me.

  10. I don’t know, every mock draft I saw had him as a mid second rounder getting pickef at 50 – 60.. not even the top rated ILB. I guess that’s why I’m not a GM.

  11. goodellthegrifter says:
    April 27, 2023 at 10:35 pm
    Two terrible picks by a terrible franchise.

    *****************************************
    You obviously didn’t watch any Iowa Hawkeye games ever.

  12. This running back would have been available in the second round. Need D Backs, not running backs.

  13. Came in with the 6th and 18th picks and left with the 2nd best RB prospect and an off ball LB. That might have been an average haul 30 years ago but in today’s NFL that is absolutely terrible allocation of resources. I’d be sick to my stomach if I was a Lions fan. That’s not a judgment on the players it’s just bad process to target those positions so early with what else was available.

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