2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Will Campbell
- Jack Gaffney
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
There's no more highly debated top prospect in this year's NFL draft class than LSU's Will Campbell. An All-SEC caliber tackle from the moment he threw on a Tigers helmet; his one major catch is that his arm length and wingspan numbers are historically low. His Pro Day arm number of 33 inches would put him level with current tackle Rashawn Slater of the Chargers and only 1/8th off of future first-ballot HoF'er Jason Peters, but the wingspan is notably more concerning: 77 2/8th inches, which would be the shortest of any tackle prospect on record in 25-plus years, and the names just in front of him are college tackles that kicked inside in the NFL. Hell, his Relative Athletic Score comparison that you'll see shortly is a tackle-to-guard convert.
Despite being a historic outlier of epic proportions, Campbell is steadfast in his belief that he can stick at left tackle as a professional, noting his work on tape across three seasons in the SEC. He's gone head to head with elite edge rushers such as Will Anderson, Dallas Turner, Jared Verse, and Nolan Smith, and his accolades certainly didn't get awarded to him on accident. But are we looking at a tackle or guard in the NFL?
Player Bio
Name: Will Campbell
Jersey: No. 66 (Unofficially No. 7, which is a massive deal at LSU if you're not a big college fan)
Position: Offensive Tackle
School: Lousiana State
Class: Junior
Height: 6'5
Weight: 319 lbs
Games Watched: vs. Alabama and Florida State (2023), vs. Ole Miss and South Carolina (2024)
Major Injury History: N/A (Campbell did miss a game his freshman season due to a trip to the hospital due to dehydration)
RAS Comparison:
Player Breakdown
Pass Blocking (14.25/15)
Campbell's pass pro tape was largely excellent, even with a bad snap here or there against elite competition such as Jared Verse and some inconsistent mechanics. Specifically, he opened himself up to getting beat inside in both years' worth of tape, and for a specific example, here's a sack vs. South Carolina I'd put on him going up against Kyle Kennard.
While obviously not a perfect prospect, there were a ton of good pass pro snaps in both 2024 games (against a DYNAMITE South Carolina DL, might I add) and enough vs. a couple of good Alabama and Florida State fronts in 2023 that you should feel good about him moving forward. Simply having those reps against guys who are already elite NFL players is invaluable. His knee bend was much better than I would've anticipated; he can play off of his limited length fairly well, and he's powerful as all hell, especially in his hands, while being light on his feet. I also loved his ability to pass rushers off inside and take on defenders on twists and stunts.
Run Blocking (13.25/15)
Campbell's ability to work to the second level on runs and ability to work as a pull guy in the run game are nice qualities to have, but I would've liked to have seen a bit more "finshing" reps than what I saw in these four games, as well as the ability to stay latched on a bit more on defenders. Ultimately, it wasn't as bad as the lows were with Kelvin Banks' tape. He's still a good run defender, but with all confidence, pass protecting is his bread and butter.
Length (12/15)
While Campbell's lack of ideal arm size/wingspan wasn't as much of a hindrance as I anticipated, it did get him into some trouble, simply not being able to engage first and dictate the pace against some lengthier guys who could then make things difficult on him when his mechanics weren't on point. Ultimately, though the wingspan/arm numbers are what they are, he could make it work, assuming he can progress mechanically.
Footwork (9.25/10)
Campbell's biggest area of improvement regarding his footwork would be not getting too jittery in pass protection, oversetting, and opening himself up inside to the point where he can't recover. However, you can't not be impressed with a guy his size being as light on his feet as he is. Also, I would like to see him keep his feet a tad bit closer together to keep a better base vs. power rushes, but I don't think that'll be a long-term issue.
Mechanics (8.75/10)
As far as the mechanics go with Campbell, the biggest thing is that he's very sound when he puts it all together, but that wasn't always the case. You saw instances of him showing off some great knee bend despite his unorthodox stance, which starts him out high; probably one of the key things I was hoping to see, as you can see here being nararated by Brian Baldinger.
On the flipside, edge rushers could take advantage of him when he was higher in his stance, which led to some negative plays. Furthermore, Campbell was also guilty on several occasions of oversetting in pass pro, directly leading to some pressures and sacks against some elite QB hunters. Hand placement could also be better across the board, but you saw some improvement there, and he has the raw hand power to allow some less-than-perfect reps in that area. I also thought Campbell did a good job eliminating some lunge blocks in pass protection as well.
Athleticism (10/10)
I gave Kelvin Banks a perfect score here, so it's the bare minimum I can do for Campbell, who tested even better at the combine and certainly was in the same ballpark as the Texas product when it came to on-field play. The explosion testing numbers (broad and vert jumps) jump out speciffically, which would put him in a logjam for the 33rd-best result since at least 1999 among tackles (tied with, most notably, Trent Williams, Rodger Saffold, who converted to guard, and 2024 first-rounder Troy Fautanu). Additionally, his 4.98 40-yard dash time would make him just one of 41 tackle prospects to hit that number in the same time frame. Yeah, pretty good.
Versatility (8.75/10)
Campbell has been proposed as a tackle-to-guard convert, depending on who you talk to, but something interesting that popped up vs. South Carolina was that LSU flipped him over to right tackle in this certain goal-line package where they had a tight end slot in for him on the other side. It was only for two plays, three at most, but that certainly caught my eye. I will say that I'm a bit more open about his prospects as a left tackle now, but he could realistically play either tackle spot or left guard, and as a scheme fluid guy at that.
Anchor (9.25/10)
One consistent aspect of Campbell's game was his ability to anchor up. Even if he gave up a step or two for whatever reason, he showed the ability to redirect edge rushers seamlessly. Maintaining a tight base against power rushers will be the key for him, but this is a player with excellent lower body strength who can root himself into the ground and with the power in his hands to keep defenders at bay and overpower them. This snap vs. Ole Miss might've been my favorite pass pro rep of these four games.
Control (4/5)
Campbell mainly loses points here because of some of his negative run-play reps, where he couldn't latch onto defenders consistently enough. In Pass Pro, there isn't a ton you could knock him for outside of perhaps not being able to engage as early as you'd like because of his arm size, but I didn't see that as a problem, personally.
Player Summary
While I still contest that Kelvin Banks is my top OL prospect in this draft (comfortably assuming I'm a man on my own island there, which is fine), Campbell isn't far off at all, and I no longer have reservations about him being a top-10 caliber guy after seeing him on film. This kid can play, and if it's not at tackle, he can kick in at guard no problem. His range realistically begins with New England at four, but how the top three shakes out could significantly affect where he lands.
Rookie Projection: Day One Starter
Third-Year Projection: Franchise/All-Pro Offensive Lineman
Final Grade (89.5/100): Top 10 Talent
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