It\u2019s only been a few weeks of offseason workouts and a single day of Organized Team Activities (OTAs), but Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell has already been very impressed by the team\u2019s new roster. This offseason, the Lions signed 16 external free agents (and signed another two to futures deals), drafted seven players, and added another nine undrafted rookies. That\u2019s 34 new players on the team, and Campbell can already tell they\u2019re made of the right stuff.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single guy they brought in was for a reason, and every single guy they brought in, I\u2019ve been super impressed with,\u201d Campbell said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Last year left a sour taste in the team\u2019s mouth. After a 15-2 season, earning the top seed in the NFC, the Lions followed it up with a 9-8 year and missed the playoffs entirely. Campbell said he doesn\u2019t love spending time thinking about the past, but the failed year certainly provides a small chip on the shoulder. And for the Lions organization, it clearly served as a wake-up call, prompting a shake-up in how the team has operated this offseason.<\/p>\n
But for Campbell\u2014and the roster the team has curated\u2014it\u2019s not about turning last year into motivation. That drive has to come from inside, something you could clearly see in Campbell from Day 1. The Lions linebacker thinks that\u2019s what has already set this team apart from previous iterations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel like we\u2019ve got the guys that we\u2019re going to\u2013if you get knocked down, they\u2019re getting back up every single time,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cThey\u2019re never giving up, and you\u2019ve just got bell cows, and that\u2019s just something that I\u2019ve kinda noticed early on. Today was our first day of Phase 3. It wasn\u2019t perfect, but it was refreshing to see guys out there who are just hungry, and I feel like that\u2019s going to carry you a long way in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word \u201crefreshing\u201d certainly sticks out there. Perhaps it was unintentional from Campbell, but it certainly suggests that hunger hasn\u2019t always been there with this team. Grittiness has always been a priority with this franchise, but it\u2019s possible a bout of complacency took over the team after two playoff runs.<\/p>\n
If you look across the Lions\u2019 additions, you\u2019ll find players who have been spending the last few years scrapping and fighting for playing time. Most signed some version of a one-year, prove-it deal with Detroit, and it wouldn\u2019t be an exaggeration to say that in some way, their football careers are on the line this season. Clearly, that urgency has already shown up on the practice field.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019ll be Campbell leading the defense this year\u2014the coaching staff has referred to it as \u201cCampbell\u2019s defense\u201d several times\u2014the Lions linebacker knows the defense needs buy-in and mastery from all 11 players to work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that your defense can be elite if you put it all on one guy,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cI want all 11 guys to think that they have a part of it. I want\u2013in my opinion, and this is just how I think\u2013if you don\u2019t think that it\u2019s your defense, each 11 out there, and you [don\u2019t] take responsibility and you [don\u2019t] have pride in what you\u2019re doing, I feel like you won\u2019t be elite.\u201d<\/p>\n