Niners Nation
Will Campbell, Armand Membou, Kelvin Banks, and Josh Conerly have all been mocked to the 49ers in some capacity. Here’s what NFL scouts are saying about the draft class.
Every year, Bob McGinn has an annual series where he asks scouts around the NFL for their take about prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. In 2015, the series became anonymous, and the quotes became a bit more reckless. But with the San Francisco 49ers projected to draft an offensive tackle at some point, it makes sense to highlight the players being mocked to the Niners.
As you’re reading this, understand that most scouts these days collect information. They are private investigators looking to uncover background information we can’t find on film. I, nor should you, put much stock into what scouts say. In no way will that stop us from listening to what they have to say.
Let’s start with LSU’s Will Campbell, who was thought to be a top-five lock until his measurables came in shorter than expected:
“He’s super talented,” one scout said. “Can do it all. He’s quick, has feet, he’s athletic. His technique’s really good. In the run game, he can position or jolt people. In pass pro, he can mirror. He’ll give up some (pressure) every so often on an inside move mostly. He’s got Pro Bowl talent. His arms are a little short. That’d be the only concern.” Arm (32 5/8 inches) and hand (9 ½ inches) measurements at the combine (regarded as the standard by most teams) were the shortest/smallest among the top tackles. “There’s always exceptions, there’s always outliers,” the scout said.
Under nine percent of starting NFL tackles who played at least 500 snaps in 2024 had arm length under 33 inches. That’s a six out of 67 sample size. That makes Campbell an extreme outlier if you leave him at tackle.
But then you must ask, at any point during a game, do you notice defenders taking advantage of Campbell’s lack of arm length? The answer is no. It’s not as if he suddenly changed positions and was exposed last season at LSU.
His wingspan would be concerning if there weren’t thousands of exposures Campbell had taking true pass sets against future NFL prospects. Against what’s considered the best competition, Campbell has dominated since he was a freshman.
One scout said, “He’s less than a Jonah Williams as a left tackle, but as a right tackle, he would be a good player,” as if defensive ends who rush the passer on one side of the field can’t take advantage of arm length. The more scouts talk, the more I take what they say with a grain of salt, and quotes like that are why.
Campbell was a five-star recruit out of high school. Another scout said, “You can find plenty of negative reps on this kid. If you want to knock holes in him and not take him, you can find whiffs and misses...
