KANSAS CITY — University of Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell was selected by the Detroit Lions in the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft. Campbell was the 18th player picked overall. He is the 10th linebacker selected in the Kirk Ferentz era.
With the selection of Campbell and defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness (Green Bay, 13th pick) the Iowa football program has two players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft for the first time since 2019 when tight ends T.J. Hockenson (8th) and Noah Fant (20th) were selected.
It is just the fourth time in program history that two Hawkeyes have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft (1986, 1997, 2019). Iowa football has had a first round selection in four of the last five NFL Drafts.
Campbell (6-foot-5, 246-pounds) is a native of Cedar Falls. He started all 13 games in 2022, leading the Hawkeyes with 128 tackles, two interceptions, one forced fumble, one caused fumble and a safety.
Campbell completed his career as a unanimous consensus All-American. He earned the William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by the National Football Foundation, and won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. He was named the Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after earning first-team All-Big Ten honors from both coaches and media.
Campbell was named a Permanent Team Captain and Roy Carver Most Valuable Player for defense. He earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for three years and carried a 3.49 GPA as an enterprise leadership major.
The Lions posted a 9-8 record in 2022. Detroit most recently drafted an Iowa player in 2019 when it selected tight end T.J. Hockenson with the eighth pick in the first round.
Iowa has had at least one player drafted in every NFL Draft since 1978, including 13 first round selections. Campbell is the 83rd player coached by Kirk Ferentz at the University of Iowa to be selected in the NFL Draft.
To see the University of Iowa’s NFL Draft Central Page, visit Iowa’s Draft Central.