Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell have the potential to become a special linebacker duo in 2025 and we already saw signs of that in Week 1.

Heck, we saw it all on one drive.

After the Eagles’ defense had given up points to the Cowboys on their first four drives in their eventual 24-20 win, Vic Fangio’s unit desperately needed a stop in the third quarter. And that’s when Baun and Campbell flashed their abilities multiple times.

Yeah, that’s the rookie Campbell about 30 yards downfield in perfect coverage on tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford.

“Once they motioned from 2×2 to 2×1, I had him vertical and I took him,” Campbell said. “As Coach Vic say, ‘Don’t panic when you’re in coverage and you’re swatting at the ball. Just stay calm,’ and that’s what I do.”

It’s not normal for a linebacker, let alone a rookie linebacker, to look this smooth in coverage down the field. But Campbell’s range and length seem to show up.

“The dude is a freak athlete,” Baun said. “He can cover some ground in the run game, in coverage. No surprise to me.”

A few plays later, former Eagles running back Miles Sanders busted a big run that looked like it was going to go 60 yards for the score. But Baun simply chased him down.

“I mean, that’s a seven-point tackle,” head coach Nick Sirianni said.

Baun on that play reached a top speed of 20.68 miles per hour, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Baun’s only regret on the play was that he tried to punch the football out twice. In hindsight, he thinks he should have just tried once with his left hand.

“The play was just hustle,” Baun said. “Just running to the ball like we do in practice all the time. That’s kind of the name of my game is hustle. I’ve done it in my past and I do a lot of conditioning so when I’m in that position, whether it’s the 16th play of the drive or 5th play of the drive, I’m able to do stuff like that.”

Campbell said he sees Baun make those hustle plays in practice all the time. Even when the whistle blows, Baun is constantly running down Saquon Barkley to work on conditioning for a moment exactly like the one that came up on Thursday night.

Campbell expected Baun to make that play.

“Hell yeah. Definitely,” Campbell said. “He does it in practice. I didn’t expect nothing less in a game.”

Not to be outdone by a rookie, Baun made his own incredible play in coverage on the drive too. This time he carried starting tight end Jake Ferguson up the seam to the goal line.

Even after an All-Pro season in 2024, Baun pinpointed this as an area he wanted to improve.

“It’s something I really worked on in the offseason,” Baun said. “I had a couple of those opportunities. For a linebacker, it’s few and far between that we’re carrying receivers, tight ends and running backs down the field like that. Last year, I felt like that was a part of my game that I needed to get better at. I did that. And it was cool to showcase that in a game.”

Baun said he was watching Ferguson’s eyes and played through his hands.

The final play of the drive was a forced fumble. Both Byron Young and Campbell were in on the play, although Campbell got credit. Even if it was Young’s hand that knocked the ball out of Sanders’ hand, Campbell’s hit definitely helped as Quinyon Mitchell scooped it up to give the Eagles the ball back.

All of these plays from Baun and Campbell happened on the same drive. A crucial drive.

When asked about having linebackers like Baun and Campbell who can cover downfield, Sirianni remembered his time in Indianapolis with former All-Pro Shaquille Leonard, who was the best linebacker in football for a four-year span before injuries took their toll.

“Just his length and his speed created a lot of turnovers and passing windows closed really quick and it’s hard to get the shots,” Sirianni said.

“Those guys (Baun and Campbell) had some nice plays downfield on some deep shots, on some chunk plays. It forces you to check it down more, it forces the passing lanes to be closed a little bit more. When they have that speed and that length like those guys have, I can’t tell you how many times in practice that happens with those guys.”

Because Baun missed a lot of training camp with a back contusion, he and Campbell didn’t get a ton of time together on the field this summer. But they looked natural playing alongside one another on Thursday night.

Eventually, Nakobe Dean will return from his patellar tendon rehab and the Eagles will have a decision to make about playing time. But, for now, Baun and Campbell are forming a formidable duo.

It began in Week 1 … in Campbell’s first NFL game.

“Super proud,” Baun said. “I told him before the game if he made some plays, he could wear white laces on his cleats. He gets them.”