Steelers must be salivating over LB Jack Campbell at the NFL Combine

The Pittsburgh Steelers have their brass on hand in Indianapolis for the 2023 NFL Combine. On March 2nd, it was the defensive linemen and linebackers who took the field first, for drills and testing, and there were a few players who were impossible not to notice.

Some players thoroughly impressed in shorts. After posting eye-popping weigh-in numbers they proceeded by showing off their athletic traits on the turf. One of those players was Iowa linebacker, Jack Campbell.

Standing at 6'4 1/5'' and weighing in at 249 pounds, Campbell was a smooth and effortless mover with impressive change-of-direction ability during drills. The productive Iowa product was arguably the star of the show during the first day of workouts at the NFL Combine.

In addition to his impressive movement skills, Campbell posted a 4.65 40-yard dash, a 1.59 10-yard split, a 37.5'' vertical jump, a 10'8'' broad jump, a 4.24 shuttle, and a blazing 6.74 3-cone. Adjusting for his size, all of this equated to Campbell testing as a 99th percentile athlete when compared to linebackers in the history of the NFL Combine, according to Relative Athletic Score.

Steelers could be eyeing Jack Campbell in the NFL Draft

After one of the more impressive NFL Combine performances we have seen at the linebacker position in years, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be salivating over the chance to land a player like Campbell. In addition to testing as an elite athlete, Campbell has insane college production -- combining for 271 tackles and 4 interceptions over his final two college seasons, per Hawkeye Sports.

Campbell is much bigger than the off-ball linebackers Pittsburgh typically drafts, but he's also an incredibly rare breed of player. However, it's worth noting that the Steelers reportedly wanted to draft Leighton Vander Esch in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, but he went well before their pick to the Dallas Cowboys. Campbell and Vander Esch share nearly identical size and athletic traits.

Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin are sure to love Campbell's rare blend of traits. Despite his huge frame, Campbell earned a thoroughly impressive 92.9 coverage grade last year from Pro Football Focus and he graded out as the 4th-best linebacker in the country.

The one thing Steelers have going against them is that they don't often seem to target players from the mid-west. However, Iowa is still a Big Ten school and they could very well do things differently with assistant GM Andy Weidl responsible for creating the draft board.

Jack Campbell is a remarkable football player who checks all of the boxes. With two second-round picks this year, the Pittsburgh Steelers could pounce at the chance to land him early in the 2023 NFL Draft after an outstanding performance at the NFL Combine.