Willie Lampkin has taken the draft scene by storm with his viciousness at a small stature, but how does his full NFL scouting report look?
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Overview, Film Analysis, And 2025 Scouting Report Of North Carolina OL Willie Lampkin
Measurables:
5’10”
290 lbs
Player Background:
A class of 2020 graduate from Lakeland High School in Florida, Willie Lampkin committed to Coastal Carolina as a three-star recruit. He entered college as a defensive tackle, rated among the top 200 in the country. He switched to left guard in his first season with the Chanticleers, starting in all 12 games. Only one sack was allowed by him in those games, and he was one of the best freshman linemen in the nation.
Lampkin started every game in 2021 as well, grading out as the team’s best offensive lineman across the season. He extended his starting streak throughout 2022, grading out above 85.0 by PFF in every game. 2023 was his first season with UNC, starting another 11 games and blocking for a Top-20 offense in the nation. His last season with UNC was solid once again, earning him an invite to the Senior Bowl.
Accolades:
Freshman All-American (2021)
Second Team All-Sun Belt (2021)
Second Team All-Sun Belt (2022)
First Team All-Sun Belt (2023)
Sun Belt Offensive Lineman of the Year (2022)
Third-Team All-ACC (2023)
Strengths/Pros:
It’s almost impossible not to get enamored with Lampkin’s violence and contact thrashing immediately after turning on his film. He launches out of his stance and rips through defenders much bigger than him, with a high success rate. He keeps his legs driving through the play and is always pushing downhill, doing whatever he can to drive defenders out of the play. His momentum absorption is smooth, planting his feet to hold ground, and he can fully reset his leverage quickly. He strikes sharply with his hands and uses them with incredible speed and force.
He has great contact balance, and he knows how to maintain his leverage throughout the play. Lampkin rotates fluidly between locking out and working defenders close to his chest, flowing easily through transitions. He has fantastic strength, and he fully latches onto defenders, making it extremely difficult for them to work out of his base. He naturally switches off defenders and maintains both his momentum and power. His awareness at the second level is solid, clearing out rushing lanes and keeping pace with faster-developing plays.
Weaknesses/Cons:
Lampkin is an incredible outlier, coming with a plethora of different natural issues in his game. His extremely small stature and length restrict him to the interior, giving him size disadvantages in every matchup, and preventing him from containing defenders at a high rate. It’s especially difficult for him to control defenders if they get a step laterally, and they get by him easily in those situations.
He struggles when tested with rushers away from his base and can’t rotate to them very quickly. Lampkin lets himself lean and bend at the waist too much, compromising his base. He gets too chaotic when trying to rotate back and recover toward other assignments. He holds onto defenders for too long after getting beaten and can be prone to penalties. His success against much bigger defenders is low, especially when he can’t establish first contact.
Potential Team Fits:
NFL Projection:
Lampkin is unironically one of the most fun watches in the entire 2025 cycle because of his violence and pad-popping. His smaller size and natural disadvantages are legitimate concerns, but he’s absolutely an NFL-caliber offensive lineman. Finding a true role for him will be a task for OL coaches to tackle early in his career, but he has plenty of translatable game skills wherever he’s put. A rotational designation is a likely outcome as a rookie because of the level of questions that need to be answered, but don’t count him out as a potential starter in the future.
Prospect Grade:
Early 4th Round
Film Exposures:
2024 vs. Minnesota
2024 vs. Duke
2024 vs. Georgia Tech
Main Photo: Bob Donnan – Imagn Images