Three 2025 NFL Draft prospects to watch from LSU

Things haven't quite been the same for LSU since their 2019 national championship-winning season, but things are turning around. After a couple of .500 years under Ed Orgeron, the Tigers have won 20 games under new head coach Brian Kelly in just two years, including a couple of big ones over top-10 squads Alabama and Ole Miss in 2022.

This year, LSU is viewed as a relative outsider in the new-look SEC, but there's still plenty of talent on the roster — talent that NFL front offices will be very interested in come draft season.

Here are the three best LSU prospects to watch ahead of the NFL Draft, which begins April 24, 2025:

Will Campbell | Offensive tackle

ESPN's Matt Miller on Campbell : "Long-term protection"

Prospect ranking: Pro Football Focus (No. 7), Tankathon (No. 2), Pro Football Network (No. 15)

At 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, and with an expected 40-yard dash in the neighborhood of 5.1 seconds, Campbell's physical profile is exactly what you want out of a pro tackle. It's not always easy being the blindside tackle for an extremely mobile quarterback like Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, as the flow of the play can change at a moment's notice, but Campbell did a fantastic job last season; he never let his quarterback get sacked by his assigned pass-rusher and allowed just 12 hurries throughout the whole campaign.

Campbell isn't just an athlete, he's the consensus top offensive tackle in his draft class. There's essentially no ceiling to how high Campbell could go, especially in a relative down year for the quarterback position. He's probably not getting out of the top five and certainly not the top 10. His exact draft position will depend largely on who's picking where, and whether or not each top-of-the-draft team needs a quarterback.

Harold Perkins | Edge-rusher

ESPN's Matt Miller on Perkins : "A true threat to opposing offenses"

Prospect ranking: Pro Football Focus (No. 22), Tankathon (No. 12), Pro Football Network (No. 26)

Perkins is another LSU prospect whose profile is driven by a remarkable physical frame. He brings plenty of power to the table at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, but is also expected to run a 40-yard dash in under 4.5 seconds, exceptional for his size.

Evaluating Perkins solely on production doesn't do justice to his tremendous potential; he's only picked up a total of 26 tackles for loss and 13 sacks so far in his college career, but he was a young true freshman in 2022 and, out of necessity, was forced into an off-ball role last year. That's a tough spot to rack up sacks for even the best linebackers and it's especially suboptimal for Perkins given his skill set. Even so, he showed maturity in stepping up for his team to fill a hole, and he became a more versatile player through the experience.

Emery Jones | Offensive tackle

ESPN's Matt Miller on Jones : "Easy movement skills"

Prospect ranking: Pro Football Focus (No. 20), Tankathon (No. 23), Pro Football Network (No. 21)

Jones forms the second half of what's almost certainly the best tackle duo in the country this season. A consensus top-three player at the position, he'd be the top option to play on the left side on almost any line in the country, but he has the luxury of playing across from Campbell so he should be in for a relatively spotless year, creating plenty of clean pockets for quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

At a glance, it seems troubling that Jones allowed a pair of sacks last year when compared with Campbell's clean record, but he only allowed one additional QB hit and 15 total hurries. This gives credence to the notion that he and Campbell had similar performances; Jones was just a bit less lucky in terms of how Daniels reacted to the pressures.

At 6-foot-6 and 322 pounds, Jones brings a very similar frame to Campbell and is expected to run the 40 at a similar pace. Jones packs an impressive punch at the line of scrimmage with hand strength to impress just about any line coach in the NFL. He's already displayed pro-level polish so there should be no concern for teams that want someone who can play on the left side if they're spending a high draft pick — he has the ability to make the move without a problem.

As such, expect him to go approximately in the first half of Round 1, or if there's a run on o-linemen, even closer to the top of the draft.