The Denver Broncos aren’t always going to be bad. Eventually, the streak of seasons without a playoff berth will end.
When that day comes, it will likely be with a large group of players who aren’t even on the roster right now. NFL Spin Zone’s Lou Scataglia believes a good fit for one of those spots would be a transformative player on the offensive line who the Broncos could get in the 2025 NFL draft.
Scataglia has the Broncos trading down to take 6-foot-6, 320-pound LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell at No. 13 overall in his latest 2025 mock draft.
“The Denver Broncos trade down from their original slot and manage to land one of the best offensive tackles in the (2025) NFL Draft,” Scataglia wrote. “Garett Bolles is set to be a free agent in 2025, and I am not sure they are planning to keep RT Mike McGlinchey around for a ton longer.”
Campbell would be a home run pick for the Broncos and a player who could protect the blind side of the Broncos’ first-round pick in 2024, quarterback Bo Nix, for the next decade.
Campbell: Once-in-a-Generation Offensive Tackle
Campbell was a five-star prospect out of Monroe Neville (La.) High School and has been the starting offensive tackle at LSU from Day 1 — he’s started 26 consecutive games for LSU headed into 2024 and is a two-time All-SEC pick.
247Sports pegged Campbell as a high-level NFL prospect coming out of high school: “Projects to high-major level with long-term potential to reach the early rounds of the NFL Draft.”
247Sports’ Blake Brockermeyer has Campbell identified as the top offensive tackle prospect in the 2025 NFL draft. Scataglia’s mock draft has Campbell as the first offensive tackle selected and two picks ahead of Georgia offensive tackle Earnest Greene III at No. 15 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Campbell already has a laundry list of accolades but could add even more as one of the best linemen in the country in 2024,” wrote USA Today’s Andrew Harbaugh. “The games I watched were to see how well Will Campbell handled the top pass rushers in the country.
“Missouri, Alabama, and Florida State were the games, and the trio of Darius Robinson, Dallas Turner, and Jared Verse all couldn’t get Campbell to the ground. That type of balance is one thing but he also never lost leverage or allowed them to get him off his base.”
Broncos Have a Good Track Record of Drafting OTs
The Broncos have drafted offensive tackles in the first round twice in the last 20 years and hit a home run each time.
In 2008, Denver drafted Ryan Clady with the No. 12 overall pick out of Boise State and he played for the team from 2008 to 2015, earning four Pro Bowl selections and being named an NFL All-Pro three times. Clady also won a Super Bowl with the Broncos following the 2015 season but didn’t play because of a torn ACL.
In 2017, the Broncos selected Utah’s Garrett Bolles with the No. 20 overall pick. Bolles earned NFL All-Pro honors in 2020 and bounced back from a season-ending injury in 2022 after five games to start all 17 games for the Broncos in 2023.
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Broncos Projected to Land Elite OT in 2025 to Protect Bo Nix’s Blind Side