How high does Will Campbell go?
Mock draft szn is (thankfully) finally over and done with, now it’s time for the real thing. Tonight the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft begins at 7:00 tonight live from Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
This year’s draft doesn’t seem to have as much juice as prior years both from an overall perspective and an LSU one. Big picture wise, there don’t appear to be as many stars, especially at quarterback. Cam Ward seems to be a lock to go first overall to the Titans, and after that…maaaybe someone talks themselves into Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart?
There is, of course, star power in this draft, just maybe not as much as last year’s. Reigning Heisman winner Travis Hunter ought to hear his name called very early and Penn State edge Abdul Carter should quickly follow thereafter. Running backs are back which is good for Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty who should go somewhere in the top-10.
As far as this site is concerned, LSU will, once again, have a solid presence throughout but the Tigers won’t have a class like last year where they have two top-6 picks and three in the first 23 overall.
Will Campbell will certainly hear his name called tonight, the only question is how early. He seems like a lock to go fourth overall to New England, but I’ve also seen some mocks where he goes as low as 13th overall to Miami. Either way, Campbell’s going to be LSU’s first offensive linemen drafted in the first round since Alan Faneca went 26th overall in 1998, and there’s a very real chance he ends up being the highest picked Tiger offensive linemen ever.
Mason Taylor will likely be the second Tiger off the board and there’s been some smoke lately that maybe the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles take him to close out round one. If he doesn’t go tonight, he’ll certainly go at some point in the second round tomorrow.
We’ll also keep an eye out for Emery Jones and Bradyn Swinson, both of whom ought to be Day Two picks or go early on Day Three. I’ve seen Swinson projected as high as 44th overall (Dallas), while Jones appears to be a top-100 prospect. Jones’ fellow o-line teammates Miles Frazier and Garrett Dellinger both project to be Day Three picks, with Frazier being the more highly touted prospect.
Does someone take a chance on Zy Alexander or Josh Williams? Alexander I can see, but Williams I’m not so sure of. To his credit, Williams tested pretty well at LSU’s Pro Day and after watching him these past six years, I’ll never bet against Josh Williams making a team somewhere.