The Saints could be in prime position to draft one of the best OL on the board.
The New Orleans Saints hold the No. 9 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and are in prime position to grab one of the best players available. They have a massive need at offensive line, and luckily for them, a few of the top guys should be within reach.
One of the guys the Saints could look to draft is former LSU OT, Will Campbell, so I thought today we could take a deep dive into his game and see if the Saints should draft him.
Will Campbell
Photo by Gus Stark/LSU/University Images via Getty Images
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 323-pounds
Position: Offensive Tackle
Draft Projection: Early to mid-first round
When you look at Will Campbell’s tape, there are a ton of positives about his game. He’s massive, he’s physical and he’s one of, if not the best pass blocking offensive lineman in this year’s draft class. He was a three-year starter at LSU and missed just one game in his entire career, which came in his freshman season. He’s played over 2,500 snaps in his career and has started 38 games. It’s hard to find a 21-year-old with more experience.
The one big knock-on Campbell is that his wingspan is a bit short for a NFL offensive tackle, so some teams are projecting him as a guard at the next level. That isn’t particularly a negative if you’re the Saints. Obviously getting a new tackle to play opposite of Fuaga isn’t a bad idea, but we all saw how poor the Saints OL played when Eric McCoy went out. They need more help on the inside, and Campbell probably grades out as the best OG in the draft if that’s where they view him.
Now, let’s dive into the numbers.
His biggest plus is his ability to pass block. In his three-year career, Campbell totaled 1,593 pass blocking snaps where he allowed 49 pressures and four sacks. That’s one sack every 398.25 snaps and one pressure every 32.5 snaps. His lowest season-long pass blocking grade came in his freshman season where he earned a 77.2, and in 2024 he posted his best pass blocking grade of 80.9.
The area where teams will undoubtedly have some questions about his game is run blocking. The Tigers were not a great run blocking team this past season, but Campbell was actually still quite good, earning a 68.6 run blocking grade on the season. Obviously, you’d want to see that number be higher for a three-year starter, but he was hindered by Jayden Daniels (which is something you don’t say too often). When Daniels was at LSU, they never really ran the ball normally. It was a lot of read options and scrambles, so for his first two seasons, Campbell never really had to get behind his pads and bulldoze opposing defensive linemen, and he still wasn’t half bad at it this year despite that. I think that’s a coachable issue that teams won’t be too worried about, but it is something to consider.
If the Saints decide to go with an offensive lineman with their first-round pick, I think the selection has to be Campbell or Kelvin Banks. They’re both projected around that 10th pick area and there isn’t really any other OL that standout. If they go with Campbell, my bet is that he moves to guard. Same could go for Banks, but he’s more likely to stay at OT in the league, I think.
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