LSU’s Will Campbell thinks arm-length discussion is “B.S.” after he’s re-measured at 33 inches

BATON ROUGE – The Saints would have to make an almost unprecedented exception if they decide to draft LSU’s standout offensive lineman Will Campbell with the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft and play him at offensive tackle.

But Campbell has obviously grown defiant on the subject of whether his arm length and wingspan could lower his draft stock or force a move to guard in the NFL. Campbell didn’t mince words when he was asked those inevitable questions following LSU’s pro day on Wednesday.

“For two years, nobody had any measurements on me and nobody said anything about my play. So now all of a sudden, an arm length decides if I’m a good player or not? I think it’s B.S.” Campbell said bluntly. “But any decision makers in the NFL, they don’t really care. It’s all people who don’t coach – and they don’t coach for a reason.”

Campbell, a first-team All-American left tackle at LSU, is a potential top-10 pick in next month’s NFL Draft. However, his arms – and especially his wingspan – are shorter than the preferred prototype size, which has led to scrutiny over whether he’ll need to move to guard in the NFL.

The 6-foot-6, 317-pounder tried to squash some of the discussion by having his arm length re-measured by NFL scouts on Wednesday – even though he didn’t participate in any of the other pro-day workouts. And sure enough, his arm length did measure in at 33 inches after being incorrectly measured at 32⅝ at last month’s scouting combine. Campbell confirmed reports that many players had inaccurate measurements in Indianapolis.

“There was a lot of people at the combine who had messed-up measurements,” Campbell said. “I knew my arms were 33 inches. That’s why I measured in again today.”

However, even at 33 inches, which is on the low end for NFL OT prototypes, his wingspan remained at 77¼ inches – which is virtually off the charts. The average wingspan for NFL tackles is 82 inches. Zack Martin, who was a college tackle who moved to guard for the Cowboys, has the same wingspan as Campbell.

The vision for Campbell as a tackle vs. a guard could be a discussion for the Saints, who value their prototypes. They already made a bit of an exception by drafting Taliese Fuaga as a left tackle last year after his arms were measured at 33⅛ inches and his wingspan at a much longer 80⅝ inches at last year’s combine.

As the Saints’ head of college scouting Jeff Ireland likes to say, he agrees with one of his mentors Bill Parcells that if you make too many exceptions you wind up with a team full of them.

Campbell, however, was just as defiant on the subject of whether he thinks NFL teams will view him as a guard.

“Like I’ve said, I’m gonna play wherever the coach tells me to. But I’ve talked to quite a few people, and only two teams that I’ve talked to out of everybody see me as a guard – and that’s because they already have tackles,” Campbell said. “So other than that, everybody knows what position I play, and everybody knows my mindset on that, that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win and get on the field as early as possible. But everybody knows that I can play tackle.”

It will be fascinating to see how those evaluations play out come April 24 – and frankly, it’s only a Saints-related discussion because of the question marks. No one is doubting Campbell’s superb play on film. If there were zero questions about his measurables, he likely wouldn’t have a prayer of falling anywhere near New Orleans’ pick at No. 9.

Meanwhile, the Saints could also have interest in another LSU prospect that would fill a need with their Round 2 pick at No. 40 overall – tight end Mason Taylor. The son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor had a very nice showing in the Tigers’ indoor facility on Wednesday, highlighted by his 40-yard dash time of 4.65 seconds and his 28 reps in the bench press.

The 6-5, 246-pounder would have ranked second among all tight ends in both of those events if he had posted those numbers at the combine. Instead, he waited to work out at his home campus.

The Saints had a small but notable contingent in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, which included general manager Mickey Loomis, top executives Khai Harley and Michael Parenton, sports medicine director Ben Stollberg and sports performance director Ted Rath. They had an even bigger presence (including coach Kellen Moore) at Ohio State, where the Buckeyes are expected to threaten Georgia’s record of 15 players drafted from one school.