NFL Draft 2025: Possible Bears pick Will Campbell swiftly responds to doubters
The NFL Scouting Combine officially wrapped Sunday, with prospects receiving the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of scouts from every team.
The Chicago Bears own the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and one of the biggest areas they need to address is offensive line. Multiple prospects — from Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. to Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons to LSU guard Will Campbell — have been linked to the Bears at that slot.
While at the combine, prospects go through numerous measurements, tests and drills to see where they rank and also what type of grade they receive through everything. For Campbell, scouts are skeptical of his arm length, in which the LSU prospect measured at 32 5/8″. NFL teams typically like to see tackles with arms measuring 33 to 34 inches at minimum, as that extra length helps on the edge of the offensive line.
[How Bears GM Ryan Poles maximizes time at NFL Scouting Combine]As Campbell went to the podium last week to answer questions, he gave a fiery response to skeptics who are unsure he can play tackle in the NFL with shorter-than-average arms.
“I think that I’ve shown everything I need to on tape to show like I said, I can play tackle at an elite level,” Campbell said. “You can go look at my tape. There’s not one play on there that when I get beat, you say, ‘Oh that’s because he has shorter arms.’
“Obviously I don’t have the most stereotypical offensive tackle arms, but I’m aware of that, and that’s something that I use every week to my game-plan preparation and how to attack different defenders.”
While arm length might not be that big of a deal to the average fan, some scouts look for linemen with a bigger reach, especially in the trenches on the edge of the offensive line.
Outside of Campbell’s arm length, he ran a 4.98-second 40-yard dash and posted a 32-inch vertical jump, according to NFL.com. As the NFL draft is just over a month away and with free agency starting next week, the Bears certainly will keep their eyes out for any help along the offensive line.