De'Vondre Campbell

Campbell went from a nondescript starter in Arizona and Atlanta to a breakout star in his first season in Green Bay, leading the Packers to re-sign him to a five-year, $50 million deal in the offseason. His first year with the Packers yielded 146 tackles, making him one of the top IDPs of 2021, and now we wait to see if he can repeat. The Packers have no one to replace him, so they’re riding with Campbell either way.

In four seasons with the Falcons to start his career, Campbell incrementally improved his tackle count, settling at 129 stops (75 solo) to go with three forced fumbles, two interceptions and two sacks in 2019. He also didn't miss a game in any of the last three campaigns, and the Cardinals pounced on the 26-year-old this offseason. Initially, he was in line to start at one of the inside linebacker spots in Arizona's base defense, but the selection of Isaiah Simmons in the first round of the 2020 draft throws a wrench into those plans. Simmons' versatility should allow Campbell to get plenty of run, but triple-digit tackles in back-to-back seasons likely isn't in the cards.

In the absence of Deion Jones for much of the regular season, Campbell stepped up by amassing a team-high 94 tackles. Campbell is more of an enforcer in the ground game than a polished, all-around linebacker, though, and that fact is reflected by Atlanta giving up 12 more receptions to running backs than any other team in the NFL last season, with Campbell anchoring an injury-depleted front seven. Campbell is not a Pro-Bowl caliber player, but there's a reason he's been able to elevate from fourth-round draft choice to a weekly starter for Atlanta. Now that Jones is fully recuperated for 2019, expect Campbell to lean more towards his typical playing style of being a downhill run stuffer.

Campbell developed an improved nose for the football in his second season out of Minnesota, tallying the first two sacks of his career while averaging 5.8 tackles per game compared to 4.4 per game as a rookie. The young linebacker bounced back from an injury-riddled 2016, starting in every game for the Falcons last year after sitting out five contests due to a concussion and an ankle injury as a rookie. Campbell is a key component to the Falcons' trio of youthful linebackers, in which he will be the oldest (25) of fellow starters Duke Riley (24) and Deion Jones (23) at season's kickoff in September.

Injuries limited Campbell to 11 games during his rookie campaign, but the fourth-round pick out of Minnesota still managed to rack up 48 tackles and an interception last season. He's expected to start at weakside linebacker, but the Falcons made it clear that they want to solidify the position when they drafted Duke Riley in the third round of this year's draft. Both Campbell and Riley posted a 4.58 40 time, but Campbell is two inches taller and is familiar with the system, so if he can take another step forward this season and stay healthy, he could certainly build on last season's tackle numbers.

Campbell is trying to usurp veteran Sean Weatherspoon to earn a starting linebacker role, but it appears it's Weatherspoon's job to lose for the time being. Even if he remains in a rotational role, Campbell still offers some good run-stopping potential. If he can win the job outright, he could make a name for himself as an IDP.