Ben Johnson Had Telling Comments On The Will Campbell Situation
No player is proving more divisive going into the 2025 NFL draft than Will Campbell. On the surface, he was the most accomplished offensive tackle in this class. He started three seasons for LSU, going against the best college football had to offer. He’s a great athlete, tough, strong, and, by all accounts, an outstanding person. There is one problem many evaluators can’t get past: his arms are short. Over the past few weeks, measurements indicate he hovers between 32.5 and 33 inches. That is short for NFL tackles, leaving many to wonder if Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears would consider him at the 10th overall pick.
Most times, players with shorter arms get moved inside to guard. The Bears don’t need guard help after trading for Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. Left tackle is the only remaining spot on their offensive line with significant question marks. Braxton Jones is recovering from a broken leg and enters the final year of his rookie deal. Kiran Amegadjie didn’t show much last season once he finally got on the field. Would arm-length issues be a red flag for Johnson? Adam Hoge of CHGO asked about that. The answer he got was telling.
“I love watching the tape without knowing anything. To me, that’s the most important indicator of whether the guy can play football or not.
“As you’re watching tape, if concerns arise about getting long-armed on the perimeter because it shows up more for tackles that you have these long-armed edge rushers sticking out, and if you can’t anchor and it becomes a consistent problem, then yeah, I’ll look at arm length and see if it fact-checks or not.
“But the tape, to me, is more important than the measurables.”
Ben Johnson having this stance isn’t a surprise.
One must remember who he coached in Detroit. Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell had arms considered shorter than the preferred 34 inches, but both were Pro Bowlers anyway. The length issues never really surfaced on their college tape, so the Detroit Lions didn’t worry too much about it. This is why the draft season is so dangerous. Teams can often venture into the realm of overanalysis. Yes, measurables are important, but not at the expense of getting a good football player.
That is what makes the comments from Ben Johnson so encouraging. Nothing tells you more about whether somebody can play at a high level than the tape. The measurable process is meant to confirm what the tape shows. If it doesn’t, that could mean something was missed. Will Campbell showed for three years that his supposed length issues were never a glaring concern. Everything else about his game says he is a tackle. If Johnson holds to that stance, the Bears could have a new blindside protector next month.
