LSU OT Will Campbell is still viewed as a Top 5 NFL Draft pick

Where will LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell be selected in the 2025 NFL Draft in a little more than two month’s time?

The latest NFL Mock Draft from Pro Football Focus (PFF) brought with it trades and some shuffling to the top of the NFL Draft Big Board of potential first-round picks.

For Campbell, it also meant – once again – appearing as a projected Top 5 pick and the first offensive lineman taken in this year’s NFL Draft.

No. 4 overall pick – New England Patriots: LSU OT Will Campbell

Step one of finding a franchise quarterback is seemingly completed. Now, New England will attempt to protect Drake Maye for the next decade-plus with this pick at No. 4. Debates will ensue until draft night as to who the top offensive tackle is and PFF goes with Campbell in this mock.

PFF: “New Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel knows how important it is to win in the trenches — and how New England’s offensive line last year was one of the worst at doing so. They owe it to quarterback Drake Maye to build a wall of protection in front of their franchise player.”

Campbell started at left tackle for LSU in his first collegiate game, and he kept that starting job for the next three seasons before announcing his decision to turn pro in January.

It was a great run at arguably the most important position on the offensive line, but will he be able to hold on and become the first offensive lineman to hear his name called in April’s NFL Draft?

On an ESPN NFL Draft special on Monday afternoon, analysts Mel Kiper and Field Yates praised Campbell and talked about him as being the first offensive lineman coming off the board.

The pair also offered up a new name to keep an eye on as a potential riser, swapping out the top offensive line prospect from Texas for the top offensive line prospect out of Ohio State as the player who could challenge Campbell for the honor of being OL1 in this year’s draft.

“We thought Kelvin Banks Jr. from Texas would be in this mix, but he had some hiccups we call them, right?” Kiper said. “Some inconsistent performances, banged up later in the year. Didn’t have the type of season you expected from him to be a top-five pick. We thought maybe he’d be in the mix to be the second or third pick. That didn’t happen. So he opened the door for maybe a guy like Josh Simmons.”

Simmons started all 13 games for Ohio State at left tackle in 2023. His 2024 season was ruined by injury, something that has made getting a firm NFL Draft projection on him a little more difficult.

“Josh Simmons from Ohio State, I thought back in September was going to move to the top of the list and be the No. 1 offensive tackle in this draft,” Kiper said. “Then he was injured in the Oregon game, so medical’s going to be critical for him. But in this draft, I’m anxious to see where we have Josh Simmons.”

The veteran NFL Draft analyst offered one potential first-round landing spot for the Buckeyes bulldozer.

“I said 49ers made sense to me, because if you have to medically redshirt him or wait for him to get to 100%, the 49ers can afford to do that,” Kiper said. “They’re picking 25 to 32, we’re not going to get a guy, a left tackle with his skill set.

“Or Trent Williams when he came out, who’s their left tackle but he’s obviously nearing the end of his phenomenal, Hall of Fame career. … so for Josh Simmons, where does he go? There’s a wide range of opinion on Josh Simmons because of the medical. Had it not been for that, based on the way he played — cut down on the mistakes, cut down on the penalties, was flawless at Ohio State, was at San Diego State, played right tackle, but at left tackle, the development he received from the coaching he received at Ohio State had taken him to another level.”

Is that enough to move Simmons up the 2025 NFL Draft board? Or will the known of a guy like Campbell win out?

We might not find out until the draft actually rolls around.

“The shame is he got hurt. I really believe had he not gotten hurt with his draft and the questions about is Will Campbell a left tackle, is he a guard, Kelvin Banks Jr. didn’t have the great year, Josh Simmons would have been hands-down the best tackle in this draft and certainly a potential top-five to top-seven pick in this draft,” Kiper said. “Now where does he go?”

Simmons was not on PFF’s latest Round 1 Mock Draft, while Campbell came off the board inside the Top 5 before Banks was projected to be taken by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 10 overall pick.

That said, there’s another offensive tackle in the mix who has seen his stock rise over the past six months. Missouri’s Armand Membou, who could play right tackle if needed, was projected by PFF to be taken with the No. 9 overall pick by the New Orleans Saints – one spot ahead of Banks.