When NFL scouts, coaches and front office personnel evaluate prospects, they tend to scrutinize every little thing to try to create gaps between players. Lately, the most popular topic has been quarterback hand size and whether players with smaller hands can still be effective in the NFL.
Measurement discussions haven’t stopped there, though. Most positions have some baseline measurements in their profile that teams seek. Offensive linemen are mainly judged on their agility and strength. The measurement built into this is arm length. Longer arms help create more distance against pass-rushers, but also give the offensive lineman more force whenever they get up close.
LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell was long been considered the best offensive lineman in the 2025 NFL Draft. He was expected to be one of the top overall picks in the class, and all he needed was a solid NFL Combine.
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Campbell did fine in all of the drills, but the measurements portion didn’t help him. More than that, there were stark differences between his measurements at the NFL Combine and at LSU’s Pro Day.
Here’s more on Campbell’s arm length controversy.
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Will Campbell arm length controversy, explained
2025 NFL Combine
An arm length of 33 inches has become the baseline cut-off for offensive tackles in the NFL. Typically, players with shorter arms will be moved inside to guard or center. So, if Campbell’s arms were too short, it isn’t that he wouldn’t be able to play at all; it’s just that historically, we would see him move to the inside of the offensive line.
Campbell’s arms at the 2025 NFL Combine measured at 32 5/8 inches, 3/8 of an inch shorter than the typical cutoff. On top of that, his wingspan measured at 77 3/8 inches, and that was the shortest measured at the Combine since 2011. Part of the controversy comes from the fact that “multiple NFL personnel departments have indicated that a large number of players in Indy this year had arms that measured shorter than expected,” per NBC Sports.
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2025 LSU Pro Day
Campbell was re-measured at LSU’s pro day. After telling the media he wasn’t concerned about his arm length, his arms were measured at 33 inches at his pro day. While some would be quick to say, of course they were better for him at his pro day, NFL scouts are the ones who measure at both the Combine and pro days. Typically, with different numbers, teams go with the better one.
Will Campbell’s measurements:
Pro day: 33″ arm, 77 2/8 wing
Combine: 32 5/8″ arm, 77 3/8 wing https://t.co/iad81PE25R— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) March 26, 2025
At his pro day, Campbell met the baseline for offensive tackles in the NFL. That doesn’t exactly mean he has to play tackle at the next level, and whichever team drafts him will have to make that decision when he arrives in mini-camp and training camp. Campbell is still expected to be a top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The consensus mock draft database has him landing with the Patriots with the fourth overall pick.
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