NFL draft preview: The more offensive tackles picked early, the better for the Bills
The Buffalo Bills have no need for an offensive tackle this year, so an early run at the position will be helpful before the Bills pick at No. 30 overall, and by the time their picks in the second round come – at Nos. 56 and 62.
This is the fifth in a series of position previews for the 2025 NFL draft. Today: offensive tackles.
It is almost certain that four offensive tackles will be drafted in the first 29 picks of the 2025 NFL draft, and there could be a fifth.
There is a good chance that eight tackles will go in the top 60 selections.
The more the merrier for the Buffalo Bills’ draft board.
The Bills have no need for an offensive tackle this year, so an early run at the position will be helpful before the Bills pick at No. 30 overall, and by the time their picks in the second round come – at Nos. 56 and 62.
The draft average over the past 10 years is 4.7 tackles in the first round and 6.8 going in the top 60.
“There’s not a lot of depth of starting tackle-caliber players in this draft,” said NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who thinks there could be a trade or two later in the first round by teams in need of a tackle.
“I try to look at maybe shallow pools and where there would be a need to move up,” Jeremiah said. “I would say keep an eye on the offensive tackle market, and maybe that could drive some movement.”
Overall position ranking: 5/10.
Bills view. Starters Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown are signed through 2027 and 2028, respectively. Tylan Grable, who opened last season as the No. 3 tackle before suffering a groin injury in Week 3, enters his second campaign. Ryan Van Demark, who spent most of last season as the No. 3 tackle after Grable got hurt, is back. Alec Anderson, a reserve guard/tackle, is entering his third season in Buffalo. Travis Clayton, a developmental seventh-round draft pick in 2024, spent last season on injured reserve and returns. So does Richard Gouraige. If the Bills take a tackle, it will be a Day 3 prospect.
Bills need ranking: 1/10.
The Best. Louisiana State’s Will Campbell and Missouri’s Armand Membou are the top two tackles. New England at No. 4 overall and the New York Jets at No. 7 are good bets to land a tackle. Campbell doesn’t have ideal arm length, at 32⅝ inches. The Bills’ Dawkins has 35-inch arms. But Campbell is sound in all areas and a safe pick. Membou is a thicker-bodied man with 33½-inch arms.
Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is expected to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft. Michael Thomas, AP file photo
Names to know. Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr. and Minnesota’s massive Aireontae Ersery also are first-rounders, while Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr. and Ohio State’s Josh Simmons could land near the end of the first round. While not a freak athlete, Conerly has great technique, has been well coached and should be a quality NFL starter.
“With Banks, I love just the fact that he is 320 pounds, he is thick, he is sturdy,” Jeremiah said. “He is athletic enough to really sink and bend. He keeps his hands in tight. He plays with patience.”
Next in line are William & Mary’s Charles Grant and Anthony Belton of North Carolina State. That makes eight tackles who have a good chance to go off the board before the Bills’ pick at No. 62. As a high school senior, Grant placed third at 220 pounds at the Virginia state wrestling championship. He didn’t start football until his junior year of high school.
Rutgers 6-foot-8 offensive lineman Hollin Pierce, running a drill at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on March 2,
began college as a walk-on but started 50 of 52 games. George Walker IV, Associated Press
Intriguing. Rutgers’ Hollin Pierce is a giant at 6-foot-8 and 341 pounds, with 36-inch arms, longest in the draft class at any position. He weighed 450 in prep school and 378 at his first Rutgers weigh-in as a freshman. He began college as a walk-on, but started 50 of 52 games. He also was Academic All-Big Ten. He is probably an early Day 3 pick. Among others with very long arms are Iowa State’s Jalen Travis, Kansas’ Logan Brown and Oregon State’s Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan.
Sleeper. Carson Vinson of Alabama A&M has ideal size and length, at 6-7, 314, with 35⅛-inch arms. He’s raw. He needs to develop more strength over a developmental rookie year to better tap into his big traits.
NFL DRAFT TOP 10 OFFENSIVE TACKLES
Rk Player, school Height Weight
1 Will Campbell*, LSU 6-6 319
2 Armand Membou*, Missouri 6-4 332
3 Kelvin Banks Jr.*, Texas 6-5 315
4 Josh Conerly Jr.*, Oregon 6-5 311
5 Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota 6-6 331
6 Josh Simmons, Ohio State 6-5 317
7 Charles Grant, William & Mary 6-5 311
8 Anthony Belton, North Carolina St. 6-6 336
9 Cameron Williams*, Texas 6-6 317
10 Ozzy Trapilo, Boston College 6-8 316
*- underclassman
