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Patriots draft prospect Will Campbell bluntly dismissed concerns about his arm length
"So now, all of a sudden, an arm length decides if I'm a good player or not?"
Top NFL Draft prospect Will Campbell, arguably the highest rated offensive lineman in this 2025 class, had his arm length measured during LSU’s pro day on Wednesday. The reported figure given was 33 inches.
This differed from the length measured at the NFL rookie scouting combine a month earlier, in which the figure was 32⅝ inches. In some league scouting circles, the less-than-an-inch difference has a profound impact.
As Patriots team analyst Evan Lazar noted, having arms shorter than 33 inches would place Campbell among a small percentage of NFL tackles. It can be interpreted as a red flag from a draft perspective.
Still, Campbell was a four-year starter in one of college football’s elite conferences, and was a consensus All-American in 2024. Asked about the arm length discrepancy between the combine and his pro day, Campbell told reporters he was confident the second measurement was reflective of reality.
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“I knew my arms were 33 inches,” Campbell explained, per the Times-Picayune’s Wilson Alexander. “Height, weight, wingspan, arm length — everybody was kind of deducted at the combine. That’s why I measured in again today, even though I didn’t do anything, because I knew that’s not right.”
As for the wider discussion of his arms and how important their length is in projecting his potential at the NFL level, Campbell smiled before offering his take.
“For two years, nobody had any measurements on me and nobody said anything about my play,” said Campbell. “So now, all of a sudden, an arm length decides if I’m a good player or not? I think it’s BS.
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“But any decision-makers in the NFL, they don’t really care,” he added. “It’s all people who don’t coach, and they don’t coach for a reason.”
Whether or not NFL executives truly don’t care remains to be seen. The Patriots, holding the fourth overall pick, could certainly use an offensive tackle to help shore up a line that struggled frequently in 2024.
The NFL Draft is set to get underway on April 24. Given New England’s proximity to the top of the first round, fans won’t have to wait long to see if Campbell’s assessment is truly correct.
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