The New Orleans Saints maintain the No. 9 decide within the 2025 NFL Draft and are in prime place to seize top-of-the-line gamers accessible. They’ve an enormous want at offensive line, and fortunately for them, a number of of the highest guys needs to be inside attain.
One of many guys the Saints might look to draft is former LSU OT, Will Campbell, so I believed right now we might take a deep dive into his sport and see if the Saints ought to draft him.
Will Campbell
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Photograph by Gus Stark/LSU/College Pictures through Getty Pictures
Top: 6-foot-6
Weight: 323-pounds
Place: Offensive Deal with
Draft Projection: Early to mid-first spherical
Whenever you take a look at Will Campbell’s tape, there are a ton of positives about his sport. He’s huge, he’s bodily and he’s one in all, if not one of the best move blocking offensive lineman on this 12 months’s draft class. He was a three-year starter at LSU and missed only one sport in his total profession, which got here in his freshman season. He’s performed over 2,500 snaps in his profession and has began 38 video games. It’s exhausting to discover a 21-year-old with extra expertise.
The one massive knock-on Campbell is that his wingspan is a bit brief for a NFL offensive sort out, so some groups are projecting him as a guard on the subsequent stage. That isn’t notably a unfavorable for those who’re the Saints. Clearly getting a brand new sort out to play reverse of Fuaga isn’t a nasty thought, however all of us noticed how poor the Saints OL performed when Eric McCoy went out. They want extra assistance on the within, and Campbell in all probability grades out as one of the best OG within the draft if that’s the place they view him.
Now, let’s dive into the numbers.
His largest plus is his skill to move block. In his three-year profession, Campbell totaled 1,593 move blocking snaps the place he allowed 49 pressures and 4 sacks. That’s one sack each 398.25 snaps and one stress each 32.5 snaps. His lowest season-long move blocking grade got here in his freshman season the place he earned a 77.2, and in 2024 he posted his greatest move blocking grade of 80.9.
The world the place groups will undoubtedly have some questions on his sport is run blocking. The Tigers weren’t an amazing run blocking crew this previous season, however Campbell was truly nonetheless fairly good, incomes a 68.6 run blocking grade on the season. Clearly, you’d wish to see that quantity be increased for a three-year starter, however he was hindered by Jayden Daniels (which is one thing you don’t say too usually). When Daniels was at LSU, they by no means actually ran the ball usually. It was lots of learn choices and scrambles, so for his first two seasons, Campbell by no means actually needed to get behind his pads and bulldoze opposing defensive linemen, and he nonetheless wasn’t half unhealthy at it this 12 months regardless of that. I feel that’s a coachable problem that groups gained’t be too apprehensive about, however it’s one thing to contemplate.
If the Saints resolve to go along with an offensive lineman with their first-round decide, I feel the choice must be Campbell or Kelvin Banks. They’re each projected round that tenth decide space and there isn’t actually every other OL that standout. In the event that they go along with Campbell, my guess is that he strikes to protect. Identical might go for Banks, however he’s extra more likely to keep at OT within the league, I feel.
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