Just curious why the thread called 2025 LT in the draft forum wasn’t utilized for this discussion.
Regarding the OT draft prospects, I would take Campbell over anyone else and over anyone drafted in 2023 or 2024. The only knocks I’ve seen against him are arm length and his tendency to play with his chest too high. The arms thing can’t be fixed but technique can be coached. I have yet to see him get punked by anyone in 2.5 season in the SEC, quite the opposite actually. I don’t see him as a guard, he’s 6’6” and moves very well in all the ways an OT needs to in the NFL (so I just jinxed him).
One thing I am certain about is that there will be 5 - 8 OL players taken in the first round next year, of which 3/4 will be OT prospects. It just happens every year now given the way the game has evolved. There are maybe 5 OL units in the NFL that are legitimately very good, the others have anywhere from some issues (Chiefs) to dumpster fires (Pats).
If you are in the Pats position you cannot continue to try and get by with mediocre talent at OT, but if you have a top 5 pick and the talent elsewhere is superior how can you pass up a much better player if you’re not convinced that the guy at the need position can be a starter for you immediately. Personally I’d prefer a guy that can wreck a game for the other team over any OT prospect other than Campbell, and I would be disappointed with Campbell in lieu of a truly elite WR, CB, or Edge.
They need to be ultra aggressive in the FA and trade market next year. The Scatback and The Nebbish will need to actually burn that cash like they failed to do this year. I get not wanting to pay a “C” player “A” player money - that’s certainly I think driven by the Krafts - but they went into this season with “D” players like Chuks and Anderson and seemed to think those guys are C players. That one is on Ron Wolf’s kid and Al Groh’s kid and Mayo and the offensive coaches. They weren’t good enough there and it needs to get a hell of a lot better after this debacle of a season ends.
Off what I’ve seen, I don’t like Banks as a high 1st rounder but he’s a very good player. He’s 6’4” so that’s borderline for an NFL OT, moves well, plays with power. My primary concern with him is he seems to go off balance too often but I think that’s correctable. I doubt he will be there but if the Pats went BPA with a high 1st round pick and that didn’t address OT, and somehow managed to trade up into the mid 1st, I’d take Banks there.
Ersery from Minnesota and Savaiinea from Arizona are good prospects also, as is Milum.
One final comment (my apologies to those reading this as I’ve been composing it). Take some time this season to watch guys play games and judge for yourself what you see. I think part of the problem these days with the OT prospects bombing out is that the “Underwear Olympics” and “measurables” in general has become way too important in the draft process. Case in point for me this year was JC Latham. Great measurables but if you watched that guy get his ass handed to him routinely on the field for two years at RT (until Saban got Proctor in the lineup next to Latham) you had to shake your head seeing him go top 10 and get switched to LT in the NFL. I get that the Titans have Bill Callahan but he didn’t exactly coach Jedrick Wills to stardom and IMHO Wills is a much better athlete in the field than Latham. Watch them yourselves, forget the stupid Combine and ignore the so-called experts like Mel Kiper and Daniel Jeremiah when they try to tell you the opposite of what you see yourself. Do that and then post here so we can all become more informed about it.
