Lions Coach Issues Warning to Rookie LB Jack Campbell

The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy wrote on May 14 that Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell implied while making an appearance on NFL Network that the team drafted rookie linebacker Jack Campbell at No. 18 overall to make an immediate impact on Detroit’s bottom-ranked defense.

But Lions linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard pushed back on that idea at Detroit’s minicamp on June 12.

“We are going to play the best players,” Sheppard told the media. “We do not care what that looks like, and when that starts top down, it’s easy for me to walk into my linebacker room after we take a guy Pick 18, because in probably 20 other rooms, that player’s starting and there’s nothing you can do about it as a position coach.

“Well, that’s not the case here. If Jack isn’t the top two or three, Jack will continue to go through the process of rookie development until he’s hit that mark.”

The Lions are returning their top three linebackers from last season — Alex Anzalone, Malcolm Rodriguez and Derrick Barnes.

Lions LB Coach Kelvin Sheppard Praises Derrick Barnes

It’s important to note that Sheppard did not say that Campbell will not start. If anything, it just sounds like he’s trying to keep the rookie motivated to continue earning a starting job this fall.

But Sheppard didn’t use that strategy with everyone. He offered a lot of praise for Barnes, who started four games for the Lions last season.

“That is a player that I’ve seen walk in this building since we started up Phase 2 (of the organized offseason program) and look like a completely different player. I mean, a kid growing into a man,” Sheppard said. “Taking charge, holding people accountable, running the huddle, letting everybody know, ‘I know what I’m doing, now let me help you out.’ That’s that next step right there to me.

“Derrick knew what to do last year, it’s just when things were moving (that was) slowing him down. Now it’s, he has all that. Now it’s, ‘Hey, come here, you should be in a nine technique.’”

The Lions drafted Barnes in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft. In 15 games last season, he posted 47 combined tackles, including 3 for loss, 1 quarterback hit, 1 pass defense and 1 sack.

If Campbell earns a starting job, more than likely, Barnes will be the linebacker who loses playing time. Both are at middle linebacker on Detroit’s unofficial depth chart.

Meanwhile, Anzalone and Rodriguez each started at least 15 games last season. Anzalone also led the Lions defense with 1,080 snaps (95.07% of the team’s snaps on defense).

Lions’ Rookie Jack Campbell Impressing at Offseason Workouts

Barnes isn’t making it easy for Campbell to earn a starting job. But Campbell is performing well this offseason.

John Maakaron of SI.com’s All Lions named Campbell one of three Lions players who “impressed” at rookie minicamp in May. In particular, Maakaron praised the rookie for his leadership on the field.

Campbell has continued to receive acclaim from his head coach over the past few weeks. The rookie just isn’t receiving many compliments from his position coach.

“He’s good, he’s what you’d expect,” Campbell said about the rookie linebacker on June 8. “He’s gonna grind through it, he’s gonna work at it.

“He’s pretty hard on himself. That’s something he’s gonna need to work on. It’s a blessing and a curse when you’re hard on yourself. He’s doing a good job, and (Kelvin Sheppard) is letting him have it. He’s not gonna let him off the hook. But, he’s doing good, and look, we throw a lot at those guys.

“Our inside linebackers are asked to do a lot mentally and physically in this defense, playing with vision a lot of the times now. … He’s got a lot on his plate, but he’s growing.”