May 26, 2026
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
In his second season, will Jihaad Campbell become a breakout player for the Eagles?
Every year, at least one player has his breakout season for the Eagles.
Last year, edge defender Jalyx Hunt was among the Eagles' top breakout players – he led the defense in sacks and interceptions, the first player in team history to lead the defense in both categories. But that's not the only reason he's considered a breakout performer.
When the Eagles drafted him in the third round in 2024, Hunt was considered a very raw prospect. He was a safety at Cornell before experiencing a major growth spurt and becoming an edge defender in college, transferring to Houston Christian. The thinking when the Eagles drafted him was that Hunt would need a few years to fine-tune his technique and really learn how to defend the run and rush the passer at the NFL level. But last year he proved to be way ahead of schedule, playing 62 percent of the snaps after playing just 25 percent as a rookie.
Last year, Moro Ojomo also experienced a breakout, with 6 sacks and 12 QB hits playing 66 percent of defensive snaps despite having 0 sacks in his first two seasons and playing just 37 percent of snaps in Year 2.
Who will be this year's breakout star(s) for the Eagles?
Here are some of the best candidates to not only see an uptick in production, but in playing time and responsibilities:
His breakout was previously predicted in 2024 while with Green Bay after Wicks produced 39 catches for 581 yards in 2023 as a rookie fifth-round pick on 47 percent of the snaps. He has great size (6-1, 206) and played in Matt LaFleur's QB-friendly offense, but the big emergence never came. Wicks had the same number of receptions in 2024 but 166 fewer yards and almost 5.0 yards fewer per reception despite playing 54 percent of the snaps.
Last year, he had the worst of his three seasons with the Packers, with just 30-322-2 and going back to being on the field just 47 percent of the time.
Why should 2026 be better? It's about opportunity. His trade to Philadelphia, coupled with A.J. Brown's expected trade out of Philadelphia, opens up room for a true "X" receiver with size and length. DeVonta Smith will be WR1 but is still suited for the "Z" position, while rookie Makai Lemon should see plenty of slot snaps in three-receiver formations.
Wicks will have an opportunity to see the field more with the Eagles, and new OC Sean Mannion – an assistant with the Packers for the last two years – has enough familiarity with Wicks to understand how to use him.
Although Wicks isn't necessarily a deep ball merchant, he should see more chances downfield because of Jalen Hurts' affinity for throwing long and outside the numbers. Wicks is a good contested-catch receiver, Eagles fans might recall:
Dontayvion Wicks adjusts to make the catch downfield 🙌
— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2025
📺: #GBvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/2gmZBJtNbf
If Wicks can gain Hurts' trust early, he'll have an opportunity to be a more important part of the Eagles' pass offense than he was for Green Bay.
Campbell already showed flashes of immense potential as a rookie first-round pick last year when he started the first eight games in place of Nakobe Dean, who was still rehabbing from patellar tendon surgery. Campbell eventually lost his starting job to Dean, but not because of performance; Dean was just a more experienced player and an essential piece of Vic Fangio's defense.
Campbell must improve his downhill run defense this season, but his sideline-to-sideline range and athleticism in coverage were obvious from Week 1 against Dallas. You just don't see too many rookies making this kind of play in their first game, especially on prime time (h/t @NFL_DF):
Jihaad Campbell made of my favorite plays of the night:
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) September 5, 2025
Runs with Brevyn Spann-Ford up the seam and breaks up the pass. He’s a special athlete at the LB position 🦅 pic.twitter.com/EAPZACXy4G
With Dean gone to Las Vegas, Campbell will step into the starting role with nobody looking over his shoulder. The only thing he has to worry about is his shoulders; for the second straight offseason he underwent a shoulder procedure that will keep him out of most, if not all, of the OTAs, but on the opposite shoulder as the first surgery. Campbell is expected to be ready for training camp, per Fangio.
Campbell is a much more explosive athlete than Dean, which will be central to his development, especially if he can be used in the four-man rush as a second-level blitzer.
The Eagles have a boatload of tight ends but almost all of them are one-trick ponies; they're either pass catchers or blockers. Dallas Goedert used to be an excellent dual-threat tight end, but his blocking fell off last season. Second-round rookie Eli Stowers has almost no experience blocking and will need a ton of work there, and we know that Grant Calcaterra shouldn't even be asked to block edge defenders 1-on-1. On the flip side, free agent addition Johnny Mundt is a natural "Y" tight end who lines up inline and blocks; his pass-catching production is minimal.
That leaves an opportunity for Latu to carve a role in the Eagles' new offense, which should continue to lean heavier than league average on two-tight end personnel groupings (known as 12 personnel) and could really use a tight end who can excel at blocking and catching.
Latu was a third-round pick by the 49ers out of Alabama for those reasons in 2023, but he torn his meniscus in the preseason and missed all of his rookie season. The Niners got impatient and cut him out of training camp in 2024. Latu spent most of 2024 on the Browns' practice squad and came to the Eagles last season, getting waived at the roster cutdown and signed back to the practice squad but then signed to the 53 by Week 4. He blocked a punt against Tampa Bay in his first game.
Latu's impact last year came more on special teams than offense. He only played 11 percent of the offensive snaps and didn't have a single target. But last year's offense was a mess. Mannion's objective is to marry the run game with an effective play-action pass game, especially from under center, and having an athletic tight end who can block and catch is critical to that success so Mannion doesn't have to telegraph his play calls by personnel groups.
Something like this would be a nice fit (h/t @Graham-SFN):
This was a phenomenal catch for 49ers rookie Cameron Latu
— Brad (@Graham_SFN) August 22, 2023
Darnold fired a dart and Latu was able to snag it and secured the ball through the ground pic.twitter.com/mtknXKspi7
In his last two seasons at Alabama, Latu totaled 56 receptions for 787 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging more than 14 yards per catch. He has performed in the pass game against high-level competition. The ability is there. He just needs a play caller to get him more involved.
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