Jack Campbell played well last season, for a rookie linebacker. He'd be the first to tell you that he didn't play well enough. So Jack Campbell did exactly what you'd expect Jack Campbell to do when the season came to a bitter end: "You already know where I was at. I was back in Iowa just with my family, focusing on getting stronger."
And here was Aaron Glenn last week, after watching Campbell through a couple days of OTA's: "Let me tell you, first off, he’s a man. He’s a grown man. He’s really taken control of this offseason the way he should take control of it."
This comes as no surprise. Campbell could have won Defensive Rookie of the Year -- he finished eighth, in case you were wondering -- and he would have gone home determined to get better. Especially after the Lions went home early, 30 minutes short of the Super Bowl. Campbell can still see the clock hitting zero in San Francisco, and striking midnight on Detroit's season. He can still feel the finality of Brock Purdy taking a knee in his face, then leaping to his feet in celebration. The scene still gnaws at him.
"I would say what eats at me the most was the last play of the 49ers game," he said.
Campbell learned a lot last season, about the speed and the spacing of NFL offenses and the specifics of Glenn's defense. Maybe most of all, he said he learned "the amount of sacrifice it takes from the whole team" to get as far as the Lions did, which still wasn't far enough. He remembers Jalen Reeves-Maybin telling him, "I've been in the NFL for seven years and I haven't even played in one playoff game." Then the Lions won consecutive playoff games for the first time in the Super Bowl era, but lost the NFC championship despite leading by three scores at the half.
"Getting to that next level of getting to the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl, that's what everyone is here to do," Campbell said. "Just having that, not stripped away from me, but that opportunity was right there and I feel like I was part of the problem in getting us over that next game. That's what eats at me the most."
Like everyone on the team, Campbell bears some of the blame for the collapse. He still shoulders it, several months later. He played a season-high 59 defensive snaps against the 49ers after linebacker Derrick Barnes was injured early in the game, and he wasn't quite quick enough against one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL.
He was late to meet Christian McCaffrey at the goal line on San Francisco's first touchdown; perhaps he could have filled McCaffrey's lane before the running back hit it. He was neutralized as a pass-rusher. On the 49ers' final touchdown drive that all but sealed the game, Campbell came within a step of taking down Purdy on a huge third down. Purdy escaped and took off for a 20-yard gain. It was a 10-point deficit two plays later.
"I took away just how every play matters," Campbell said. "It could be one play that no one ever notices, but you’re like that close from either breaking for a touchdown or making a safety or a pick-six, or anything like that."
Campbell finished second on the Lions in tackles (95) last season to Alex Anzalone, and tied for fifth in tackles for loss. One of his best games came when he replaced the injured Anzalone as the MIKE linebacker in the Lions' Week 13 win over the Saints. Playing the role he did at Iowa when he was named the best linebacker in the country, Campbell looked natural directing Detroit's defense while taking the calls from Glenn.
“He’s a true MIKE backer," said Glenn. "He’s a guy that lives, breathes, green-dot mentality as a MIKE backer."
Anzalone remains the defensive general. But Campbell's role will grow this season, especially after playing both in the box and on the line last year. He said that getting "pushed to go play some different positions ... helped me a lot, just understanding what the front seven is doing."
"This year, just understanding what the backend is doing," he said. "Where's my rotation? Where's my help? Stuff like that. I still have a lot to improve on. ... Right now, I'm just continuing to learn."
Campbell was a top-20 linebacker against the run last season, according to Pro Football Focus, out of 88 qualified players at his position. But he ranked 82nd as a pass-rusher and 87th in coverage. He said that given his 6'5 frame, he needs to improve his pad level "when I get in the box with big ol' offensive linemen." His main focus this offseason was getting "more explosion out of my upper body," which he intends to harness by "getting lower."
Those efforts won't really pop until the pads come on this summer. In the meantime, Glenn already sees a more comfortable player: "Just watching him on the field, his zone drop, his mentality as far as going after the football is outstanding. We've only had two days of practice, and he’s doing a heck of a job. And the way he’s leading men as far as defense is impressive to see."
Campbell still has a long way to go to live up to his status as a first-round pick. So does the Lions' defense in its quest to be a strength of the team. It ranked 19th in the NFL last season, 27th against the pass. Campbell ranked 81st among qualified linebackers, per PFF. But he ranked 22nd from Thanksgiving onward, exactly the kind of improvement the Lions were expecting out of a rookie.
Now they're expecting Campbell to level up. And with Campbell, as he put it, "mastering" the scheme, he's expecting even more out of himself.
"This year, the standard is higher, especially for the defense," he said. "We carry that as a team."