Anthony Belton, North Carolina State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Belton was a recruit from Florida State University High School in Tallahassee, Fla. in the class of 2019

North Carolina State left tackle Anthony Belton is one of the largest prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. His size and strength project well to the next level, but he needs to slim down and improve his footspeed and agility to handle a wider array of assignments.

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Anthony Belton, OT North Carolina State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt senior left tackle from Tallahassee, Fla.

Background: Belton was a recruit from Florida State University High School in Tallahassee, Fla. in the class of 2019. He was a zero-star recruit who didn’t receive a rating from any major outlets. Belton attended Georgia Military College and emerged as a three-star recruit. He was the No. 43 JUCO recruit according to 247Sports and was an unranked three-star JUCO recruit for ESPN. Belton didn’t receive a national ranking from Rivals or On3.com. He originally committed to TCU before flipping to North Carolina State. Belton appeared in 11 games as an offensive tackle in 2019 at Georgia Military College before the program canceled its 2020 season. The team finished with an 8-3 record.

Injuries & Off-Field: Ejected for spitting on opponent vs. Clemson (2024)

Awards: 2023 Third Team All-ACC

Pros: Checks all the size boxes, great arm length, thickly built frame, quick reaction to the snap, tempos footwork to match rusher, keeps B-gap closed to prevent initial penetration, flashes of quick footwork in kick step and initial slide, dominant reps in pass pro when his feet look quick and nimble, drives rushers up and around the arc when he lands the first punch, powerful chops to attack the defender’s arm, defenders struggle to challenge his anchor, nearly impossible to move when he sets a wide base, upper body power and core strength to throw outside linebackers, enough power to knock 3-techs off their feet in pass pro, looks for extra work and delivers knockdown shots to the 3-tech’s ribs, erases defenders at the second level, power and mass to pancake defenders in the run game, creates significant movement on down blocks, finds extra work, finishes plays through the whistle

Cons: Eight penalties in each of the past three seasons, bad weight, average kick step, lacks the light footwork and agility for sudden redirections, slow to redirect and close B-gap, driven vertically opening wide B-gap, struggles to mirror twitchy rushers, lacks ideal recovery speed, relies on wide alignments to negate foot speed concerns up the arc, balance concerns, ends up on the ground too often, inconsistent pad level, high pad level and narrow base opens him to bull rushes, anchor doesn’t live up to his size, underdeveloped hand usage, sometimes late to engage hands in pass pro, missed developmental opportunity to weaponize hands, forward lean while engaged in pass protection, high pad level limits displacement in the run game, lots of lunging and leaning into blocks, leans forward and falls off block in the run game, must sustain run blocks for longer, hand placement doesn’t maximize length in the run game, doesn’t latch when trying to drive defenders out of plays, inconsistent navigating to blocks on gap runs, heavy mover with limited range

Overview: Belton is a massive left tackle who meets the NFL’s preferred size thresholds with his 6'5.5" frame and long arms. He’s a thickly built lineman with excellent power, but he needs to cut 20 to 30 lbs. of bad weight to increase his mobility and agility. Slimming down should also help Belton address his penalty-prone style by gaining more width and depth in his kick step to protect his outside shoulder. Belton quickly responds to the snap and shows flashes of a quick kick step and slide to challenge speedy rushers. Unfortunately, he lacks this explosiveness on a down-to-down basis. Belton matches the pass rusher’s tempo early in the play. He protects the B-gap early in the rep but struggles to mirror B-gap counters later in the play because of his heavy footwork. The Florida native struggles to redirect and recover in a timely manner, which makes him a poor matchup for explosive and twitchy rushers. He relies on some wide splits/alignments along the offensive line to negate concerns with his footspeed up the arc. Belton posts some dominant reps with quick and nimble footwork, but these moments are separated by too many plays. He deploys powerful punches that drive rushers up and around the pocket and strong chops that break long-arms. Defenders struggle to challenge Belton’s stout anchor, and it’s nearly impossible to move him when he sets a wide base. The redshirt senior uses his upper body and core strength to toss around outside linebackers and uproot unsuspecting 3-techs with rib shots. Belton plays with a high pad level, poorly developed hand usage, and questionable balance. His high pad level and inconsistent base make it easier than it should be for defenders to bull rush him. Belton is consistently late to engage his hands and fails to maximize his length. He bends at the waist and leans forward in pass protection. This bending and leaning also impacts him in the run game. Belton’s lunging and leaning cause him to whiff or fall off blocks. He doesn’t sustain blocks long enough, and his high pad level makes displacing defensive linemen difficult. The former All-ACC selection packs the power and mass to pancake defenders, but he doesn’t latch and drive defenders out of plays often. Belton looks for extra work and posts some big finishes late in plays. He’s a heavy mover with limited range and agility to mirror defenders in space.

Overall, Belton is a massive offensive tackle with high-variance play that ranges from epic pancakes to whiffing on blocks and falling down. Belton’s size limits his agility, explosiveness, and footspeed, and his below-average balance leads to blown assignments. His power pops frequently, but poor technique and physical limitations prevent him from earning a top 100 grade.

Role & Scheme Fit: Left tackle in an inside zone scheme

Round Projection: Fourth Round

Size: 6-5 1/2v, 354 lbs., 34 5/8-inch arms (Jim Nagy)

Submitted: 12-23-24