Blogging The Boys
Offensive line remains a priority for the Cowboys.
There has been a lot of talk about wide receiver, cornerback, running back, and defensive linemen in the first round for the Cowboys. The one position we have not talked about is offensive line. The Cowboys spent their first-round pick in 2024 on Tyler Guyton and so far that has been a rather slow development. With question marks at left tackle and right guard, are we not talking enough about a first-round offensive lineman in this year’s draft?
Missouri’s Armand Membou has seen a pretty big rise in his draft stock over the course of the offseason, but still is a pretty raw prospect coming in. Similar to Guyton, Membou has all the physical and athletic traits, but his tape shows a player that may need a year or two under his belt before he develops into a true difference maker. Texas’ Kelvin Banks is another name that has been thrown around in the top 15 conversation, but like Membou, there is still a lot of rawness to his game.
The name we are not talking about much is LSU’s Will Campbell, who is the best offensive lineman in this class, and it is not all that close. Campbell has been dinged for his lack of arm length, but did not show length being an issue on tape. Campbell has the best tackle tape in this class and a move inside to guard could put him in an All-Pro category given his skillset and physical profile.
Campbell is a three-year starter at LSU and dominated SEC pass rushers in pass protection and developed as a run blocker every year for the Tigers. Campbell has elite size and athleticism, but his arms come in at just 33”, which is below the arm length threshold for most teams at offensive tackle.
In 2014, the Cowboys took a dominant college left tackle with sub-33” arms and he ended up working out okay. Zack Martin announced his retirement earlier this offseason after carving out a Hall of Fame career in Dallas. Campbell and Martin share eerily similar skill sets coming into the league and the Cowboys would be wise to consider the former LSU left tackle with the 12th overall pick if he falls to them in the draft. Campbell’s college career and production would give him a shot to earn a starting spot at left tackle in training camp, with Tyler Guyton competing with Terence Steele for the right tackle spot or Brock Hoffman for the right guard spot. If Campbell’s length does seem to be an issue, a move to guard could give the Cowboys an All-Pro caliber option to take over for Martin in hopes of building the Dallas offensive line back up to what it was in the 2014-2016 seasons.
There has been a lot of talk recently about trading up for Travis Hunter or the hope that Tetairoa McMillan falls to the 12th overall pick, but the best value in this...
