NFL draft preview: Interior offensive line is a Day 3 need for Bills
It wouldn’t hurt to have another young prospect with future starter potential. Look for the Bills to draft a guard/center prospect on Day 3.
This is fourth in a series of position previews for the 2025 NFL draft. Today: Interior offensive linemen
The North Dakota State football program has become a mini-factory for offensive linemen.
Grey Zabel is sure to become the school’s third interior offensive lineman in the past five years to get drafted in the first two rounds. In fact, numerous mock drafts project Zabel to go in the middle of the first round.
The Bison offensive line alumni includes Cody Mauch, a second-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2023, and Dillon Radunz, a second-rounder in 2021 who signed last month with New Orleans.
Zabel played left tackle in the fall for the Bison, who won their 10th Football Championship Subdivision national title in the last 15 years. But Zabel has played four O-line positions in his career and projects as an immediate NFL starter at either guard or center. He starred against top competition at the Senior Bowl.
“Going down to the Senior Bowl and competing well against top talent just goes to show that football is football,” Zabel said at the NFL scouting combine. “Everyone puts on the shoulder pads the same way. Everyone bleeds red. If you’re a good football player, teams are going to find you, no matter where you played.”
“He is someone that has really good balance, he’s always under control,” said NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. “He’s never on the ground. He’s got strong hands. He’s really aware in terms of seeing things and picking things up.”
Bills great Phil Hansen is a North Dakota State alumnus. So are NFL linemen Billy Turner and Cordell Volson.
The 2025 draft class is only average at guard and below average at center.
Overall position ranking: 4/10.
Bills starting left guard David Edwards, right, is entering the last year of his contract. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Bills view: Both center Connor McGovern and left guard David Edwards are entering the final season of their contracts. Right guard O’Cyrus Torrence has two years left on his deal. Alec Anderson, a backup at guard and tackle, will be a restricted free agent after 2025. The Bills have a developing center prospect in Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. They signed three-year veteran guard Kendrick Green as depth insurance.
It’s easy to imagine either McGovern or Edwards, or both, staying with the Bills for 2026 and beyond. But it’s not a given, and it wouldn’t hurt to have another young prospect with future starter potential. Look for the Bills to draft a guard/center prospect on Day 3.
Bills need ranking: 5/10.
The best: Zabel is No. 1. Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson and Alabama’s Tyler Booker are the top guards, both of whom could go in the top 40 picks. Arizona guard Jonah Savaiinaea is a possible top-60 pick.
Names to know: Centers who might be able to flex to left guard include Georgia’s Jared Wilson and Ohio State’s Seth McLaughlin. Wilson may be a late second-round pick. McLaughlin is a Day 3 pick who started 25 games at Alabama before transferring for 2024. He won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center but tore an Achilles tendon on Nov. 19. Boston College’s Drew Kendall and Texas’ Jake Majors are smart, tough centers. Kendall’s dad, Pete, played center for 13 years in the NFL. Wisconsin’s Joe Huber and LSU’s Miles Frazier are Day 3 guards with good size. Huber was a standout high school wrestler.
Sleeper: North Carolina’s Willie Lampkin. Only 5-foot-11 and 270 pounds, he started 57 games in his college career over three years at Coastal Carolina and two at Chapel Hill. He’s way below NFL offensive line size standards but he’s quick, athletic and a fierce blocker on the move. He might project as a great fullback. He’s also a former Florida state champion wrestler. If Baltimore drafts him, watch out. ... Late-round prospect Jared Penning is a big tackle with traits who projects to guard. He’s from Northern Iowa, alma mater of the Bills’ Spencer Brown.