Jihaad Campbell had to wait a little longer than he wanted to hear his name called during the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night. The former Alabama linebacker was projected by most to land somewhere in the middle of the first round but didn’t come off the board until the Philadelphia Eagles moved up one spot to select him at No. 31 overall.

On paper, that seems like a steal for a player who led Alabama with 117 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks before clocking a 4.52 time in the 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine.

So what was the reason for Campball’s fall?

According to multiple reports, NFL teams were concerned with the linebacker’s injury status after suffering a slight tear in his labrum he suffered during Alabama’s bowl loss to Michigan. While Campbell was able to participate in testing at the combine in February, he underwent surgery on his shoulder in March.

On Wednesday, NFL.com insider Ian Rapoport reported that Campbell’s recovery has been going well and that Dr. Lyle Cain indicated that the linebacker should be ready for training camp. Still, the injury was enough to cause teams to pause during Thursday night’s first round.

“The medical is 100% why he fell,” Sports Illustrated draft analyst Albert Breer posted on his X account following Thursday’s first round. “Had surgery on one shoulder that some teams thought would mean starting the season on PUP, and the shoulder that may need surgery after the season. Plus there were questions with his knee.

“Good gamble, but a gamble nonetheless.”

One fan of the Eagles' pick was former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who recruited Campbell to the Crimson Tide as a five-star linebacker in the 2022 class. Now an analyst for ESPN, Saban spoke glowingly of his former defender during ABC’s broadcast of the draft.

"This guy's a great person," Saban said. "People have to understand about Jihaad, he played with his hand in the dirt in high school, went to IMG, came out, was an outside backer, moved to inside backer and got better and better and better and I thought had a fantastic year this year. He has tremendous range, speed. He can play in or out. He never played behind the line before we moved him two years ago because of injuries. But he's developed into a first-round inside guy. He could be an edge rusher. This guy, I just love this pick."