Jack Campbell isn’t looking for the Detroit Lions to have a top-10 defense. He’s aiming much higher.
The Detroit Lions have produced top-five offenses in back-to-back seasons, which has been the leading source of their recent surge to the NFC Championship Game. That has led many to believe that if the Lions could manage just a top-10 unit on the other side of the ball, a championship run is very much on the table.
For 2023 first-round pick Jack Campbell, a top-10 defense should be the bare minimum of expectations for the unit. The second-year linebacker noted that if improvement is the goal, then there is no reason to aim for anything other than the top.
“Everyone out here on the defensive side, we’re going to (try to) be the best defense in the NFL,” Campbell said Friday. “Because I feel like if you set goals that are attainable, like, we could very well be a top-10 defense, we just have to come out here and do the right things every day, but why not be the best defense in the NFL, if we all want to get to where we’re going to get? I feel like that’s been the focus right now and the mentality that’s been adopted by everyone in the locker room.”
Depending on what metric you prefer, the Lions weren’t that far away from being a top-10 defense last year. While they were 23rd in points allowed, they had the second-best run defense (by yards) and finished 13th in overall DVOA. The problems were in defending the pass, where they finished 27th in yards allowed, 21st in passer rating, and 31st in yards per pass attempt.
But there are plenty of reasons to believe Detroit could see a significant improvement in 2024. Not only did Detroit make massive investments in the secondary—trading for Carlton Davis and spending first and second-round picks at cornerback (Terrion Arnold, Ennis Rakestraw Jr.)—but they added a disruptive veteran in defensive tackle DJ Reader, and have several players in their first three seasons looking to make a developmental jump: Josh Paschal, James Houston, Aidan Hutchinson, Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph, and—perhaps most importantly of all—Campbell himself.
“I’m gonna work like I worked last year. Same mindset and everything. Just keep working. (The Year 2 jump is) going to come,” Campbell said. “I’m not going to press for it, and you know what? If the leap doesn’t come in this year, what about Year 3? Year 4, if I’m fortunate enough to make it that far. But you know what? I’m preparing every single day doing everything that I need to do to make that leap right now, and that’s something that, as an individual, I feel like I’ve been pushing myself to honestly the maximum human capacity right now. I’m just going to keep finding ways to do more, because, at the end of the day, I don’t want to be sitting in the offseason asking myself of what I could’ve done more. Because I hate that feeling.”
Last year, Campbell split MIKE linebacker duties with Derrick Barnes and produced a modest but solid rookie season. With 95 tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, and a pass defended, Campbell even earned a Defensive Rookie of the Year vote . That said, early indications in camp are that he may be headed for the full-time MIKE role, and that could lead to more opportunities, more production, and improvement for the entire Lions defense. But Campbell isn’t interested in personal production, it’s all about the team.
“I’m just focused on playing my position, and if we’re the best defense in the NFL and I’m doing my job and I have one tackle, you know what, that’s just how it’s going to be,” Campbell said. “But I’m out there doing my job every single play.”