Anthony Belton | Offensive Tackle | N.C. State | 6'6" - 336 lbs.

Overview
Belton is an enormous tackle with good power and long arms. He can bulldoze the roads clean for running backs but needs to play with better hand placement to sustain his early lead. Belton has the length to shove rushers up and around the pocket but his punch timing is inconsistent and he lacks the body control to consistently respond to inside counters. If a team can steady his feet and improve his hand placement, he could become a solid starter at right tackle, but he will need some help from time to time.

Strengths

• Wide frame slows rushers’ progress at the edge.
• Upper-body power to rock rushers off track with his punch.
• Displays ability to sink pad level and drop a late anchor.
• Surprisingly nimble feet getting to his back-side blocks.
• Drive power widens gaps when squaring the block.
• Potential to become a more dominant blocker with tweaks to hands.
• Hungry to drive opponents into the grass as a block finisher.

Weaknesses

• Unable to gather and correct quickly when he oversteps his block.
• Second-level targets are able to elude his blocks in space.
• Inconsistent hand placement leads to slippage and shaky sustain.
• Can be out-raced to the top of the rush.
• Heel-clicking pass slides diminish anchor stability against power.
• Slow to change direction and mirror rush counters.

2019 (Georgia Military Academy): Played in 11 games at OT.
2020 (Georgia Military Academy): School did not play due to COVID-19 concerns.
2021: Played in 2 games as a reserve.
2022: Played in 13 games with 8 starts at LT.
2023: Third-team All-ACC. Started all 13 games at LT.
2024: Played in 12 games with 11 starts at LT. Did not play in the team's Military Bowl loss to East Carolina.

Anthony Belton doesn't exclusively view himself as a left tackle. "I'm a competitor and a ball player," he says. "I want to put myself in a position where I'm one of the five out there, and if it's at guard, I'm going to figure out how to be the best version of myself at guard."

O my goodness.
Not impressive.

On the highlight reel, he held on 1/2 of these highlights.
From what I see, this guy is not a tackle, maybe a road grader guard, but he doesn't have the feet.

This guy is 4th or 5th round pick at best.
Wow, very disappointing

Martha Careful;469150O my goodness.
Not impressive.

On the highlight reel, he held on 1/2 of these highlights.
This guy is 4th or 5th round pick at best.
Wow, very disappointing

Did a flag get thrown? OL hold all the time, as long as it doesn't get called, and to protect the QBs, the NFL has stopped flagging OL nearly as much, especially on the inside.

My question is what position do they have Belton at?

LT - settings up a power running attack especially to the left side with Belton, Banks and Jenkins? But Belton will probably struggle against speed rushers.

OR

RG - where he shouldn't have an issue with the speed rushers, but also will have to adjust to the new position, but he potentially might be absolutely dominant in that role.

With Banks, Jenkins, Belton and Tom running blocking strength.

beast;469152Did a flag get thrown? OL hold all the time, as long as it doesn't get called, and to protect the QBs, the NFL has stopped flagging OL nearly as much, especially on the inside.,,,

If he does the same thing on Sunday, he will get flagged.

He is a guard....and could have been drafted in the 4th IMO

Martha Careful;469162If he does the same thing on Sunday, he will get flagged.

He is a guard....and could have been drafted in the 4th IMO

I strongly doubt it, there was a good run on OL.

I doubt he would go after these guys, and they all got picked.

Emery Jones Jr., LSU
Caleb Rogers, Texas Tech
Charles Grant, William & Mary

beast;469152Did a flag get thrown? OL hold all the time, as long as it doesn't get called, and to protect the QBs, the NFL has stopped flagging OL nearly as much, especially on the inside.

They did seemingly go a little flag happy the first few weeks last season; seemed like a "This is what we are and aren't allowing this season" type of deal.

Martha Careful;469162If he does the same thing on Sunday, he will get flagged.

He is a guard....and could have been drafted in the 4th IMO

WalterFootball.com has him as "a second- or third-round pick." His profile on the official NFL page had him projected as a 3rd rounder. NFLDraftBuzz.com projected him going in the 4th. A range from the 2nd to the 4th is pretty normal for guys who are beneath the 1st round guys but better than the strictly day 3 guys. Mostly boils down to what measurables and standards a team has.

beast;469165I strongly doubt it, there was a good run on OL.

I doubt he would go after these guys, and they all got picked.

Emery Jones Jr., LSU
Caleb Rogers, Texas Tech
Charles Grant, William & Mary

Bears also snagged a OT after GB in the 2nd, so who knows. If they had 2nd round grade on him, then they got him where they wanted him. If they had a 3rd round grade on him, then maybe they didn't feel comfortable trying a trade so they get a guy they like a round early and just go to their board for the 3rd (Given that they drafted Williams and met with Tei Felton in a pre draft visit, it's possible they had a range of WRs they liked there).

As for Belton, I'm not surprised they went oline on day 2, just figured they'd grab a swing tackle in the 3rd. He is definitely a big fattie, but in a good way. Not sure I'd want him at OT at all this season but I guess maybe he can fill in a pinch? In the short term, he looks like an upgrade at the backup G spot over Glover (tbf, getting thrown in the Philly game the way he did was rough for a guy who only played 13 snaps on offense in junk time but this is the NFL so thems the breaks)

Consensus pre-draft....3rd round

NFLDraftBuzz.com: Rated 83.5/100, ranked #19 among offensive linemen, and considered a Day 3 prospect (likely 4th-6th round) with starter potential. His scouting report highlighted his massive size (6'6", 345 lbs), exceptional length, and an 87.2 pass-blocking grade in 2024, though he was outside the top 100 prospects overall.

PFF.com: Ranked among the top offensive tackle prospects, with an 87.3 pass-blocking grade in 2024 (5th among OTs). Specific overall ranking wasn’t provided, but he was noted as a strong Day 2 or Day 3 candidate. i.e. 3rd round

The Athletic (Dane Brugler’s Top 300 Big Board): Ranked #93 overall, indicating a mid-to-late Day 2 (2nd-3rd round) or early Day 3 projection.

Consensus Draft Board (Arif Hasan): Ranked #91, suggesting he was viewed as a 3rd- to 4th-round talent, though some considered his selection at #54 by the Packers a slight reach.

ESPN (Mel Kiper Jr.’s Mock Draft): Projected as a 2nd-round pick, reflecting rising interest in his stock due to his size and 18 pre-draft visits with NFL teams.

TechnicianOnline.com: Projected as a mid-to-late Day 2 pick (3rd round) with potential to go earlier due to elite traits, with some mock drafts slotting him in the 3rd to 6th rounds.

TheDraftNetwork.com: Noted as one of the top tackles to watch, with a 4th-round projection (#97 overall) in some analyses, emphasizing his power and aggression.

WalterFootball.com: Viewed as a 2nd- or 3rd-round pick, with potential as a starting right tackle or guard.

Summary: Before the 2025 NFL Draft, Anthony Belton was generally rated as a mid-to-late Day 2 (2nd-3rd round) to early Day 3 (4th round) prospect, with rankings typically between #90 and #100 overall. His elite size, length, and pass-protection skills boosted his stock, though concerns about lateral agility and technical refinement kept him out of the top tier.

Clearly, we drafted him at the top projected draft range.....a bit of a reach and we may have been able to trade back to have gotten him or equal value.


Regardless:
- I hope for nothing but the best for him
- He is not a tackle, from the little I have seen (as Mucky said, maybe in a pinch)
- With any luck, an potential upgrade at RG

Martha, I generally love your contributions here. But this "he could have been picked 2 rounds later" stuff is always goofy. One NFL team thought he wouldn't be there. What are the odds that at least one more team agreed?

All these guys who make these lists of where players will get drafted do this as a hobby. Every year, fans scream that their team took a player at the wrong spot because it didn't match the "consensus board", which will always be hilarious to me. People working themselves into a froth over literal fan fiction.

Martha Careful;469172Consensus pre-draft....3rd round

Clearly, we drafted him at the top projected draft range.....a bit of a reach and we may have been able to trade back to have gotten him or equal value.


Regardless:
- I hope for nothing but the best for him
- He is not a tackle, from the little I have seen (as Mucky said, maybe in a pinch)
- With any luck, an potential upgrade at RG

A couple quick notes on the Belton “reach.”

We heard all throughout the draft and especially on day one where guys were ranked so closely the difference between picks 10 & 40 was almost nothing. The same goes for the 2nd/3rd rounds. It was very tight with a lot of the players ranked in a very similar range.


Gutey probably knew Belton was a bit rich where he took him but remember he said in his presser there was no opportunity to trade down on day 2, just day 1. As he said before the draft if a trade doesn’t materialize you have to be ready to make a pick.

With his desire to get more picks he was likely hesitant to trade up from the 3rd to get him that way, and the way OL were going I’d be willing to bet there was 0 chance he’d be there in round 3 when GB was picking.

Per
@JuMosq
- Belton was one of the hottest names during top 30 visits. I believe Justis said he took 18! of them. Teams were clearly interested and GB decided they wanted to get him before another team could

Besides all that he’s a fun football player and just remember the difference between a mid 2nd and a mid 3rd pick is so minute - go get the guy you want

Lastly, you’re going to love how physical and ass kicking Belton is. He plays a really fun brand of football!

North Carolina State OT Anthony Belton Has 18 Top 30 Visits

Has listed the Cardinals, Chiefs, Eagles, Packers, Ravens. WalterFootball also has the Commanders listed as well. So that's 6 teams right there (not sure about the other 12 and nothings popping up immediately for me). The Ravens, Chiefs, Commanders and Eagles all picked after GB in the 2nd. After GB picked Belton, the Bears went with an OT and the Lions an OG in the 2nd. In addition, the Chiefs held the Titans 3rd pick from the L'Jarius Sneed trade and the Cardinals held their own 3rd rounder in front of GB. The Chiefs also traded up in the 3rd to get a CB (willingness to move up to get a guy they like). Ravens went with an OT after GB went with Williams in the 3rd and the Raiders went back to back OTs with 3rd round comp picks. If Belton was a rising star before the draft, then there's a chance he doesn't last until GBs pick or another team might jump in front (potentially the Chiefs, Ravens or Raiders based on what they did in the 3rd round).

For the advanced stat geeks