Anthony Belton, OT North Carolina State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

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 a one-year starter with the physical traits to make some noise in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s still a developmental prospect, but there’s a pathway for Belton to become an eventual NFL starter.

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Anthony Belton, OT North Carolina State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt junior 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: N/A

Awards: N/A

Pros: Arm length will exceed NFL thresholds, times snap well, initial kick step and slide are fast, dropping some weight should improve athleticism, keeps his hands in close to his body until his sudden clamp, hands are quick with good strike power, replaces hands to re-establish leverage, independent hand usage, attacks the defender’s elbow to break long-arms and power rushes, uses impressive arm length to lock out and stonewall defenders, keeps head on a swivel and quickly peaks to maintain knowledge of surroundings, explodes and drives through hips, impressive power as a run blocker, explodes out of his stance coming downhill in the run game, power shocks and displaces second level defenders

Cons: Committed eight penalties in 2022, lower body needs physical development, high-cut frame, struggles to carry defenders up the arc and prevent them from turning the corner, inconsistent clamp, slowing lateral footwork, and poor body positioning allow defenders to win up the arc, punches can be timed better and delivered with more force, hands can be predictable, footwork compromises balance at point of contact in pass pro, feet occasionally pause at the point of contact in pass pro making Belton slow to react to counters, a few false starts or early jumps, oversetting opens the B-gap, sometimes ducks head which leads to missing a stunt, didn’t have a counter for Tyree Wilson’s (2022) long-arm, struggled to sink hips, maintain his base, and drop anchor vs. Tyree Wilson, struggled to contain Clemson’s Myles Murphy (2022), Jared Verse (2022) tested him vertically, gets top heavy in the run game, lunges or gets over his skis in the run game at times, drops head and lunges in short-yardage run situations

Overview: Belton’s arm length exceeds NFL thresholds and gives him a solid advantage against many college defensive linemen. The redshirt junior times the snap well and displays a fast initial kick step and slide. He could become even quicker and increase his athleticism by shedding some upper body weight. Belton keeps his hands in close to his body early in the play until he deploys his sudden clamp. His hands are quick and pack good striking power. Belton uses his hands independently and replaces them to re-establish leverage. He attacks the defender’s elbow mid-play to break long arms and disrupt the rusher’s balance. Belton controls reps when he delivers the first punch and stays square to the defender, but he’s still developing his responses to bendy or explosive defenders that enter a half-man relationship early in the play. The left tackle uses his long arms and large frame to lock out and stonewall defenders who attack without a plan. He keeps his head on a swivel and quickly peaks to maintain knowledge of his surroundings. Belton explodes off the line and drives through his hips when pushing vertically. He packs impressive power as a run blocker. The Florida native easily displaces second level defenders with his play strength. Belton is still inexperienced at the Power Five level. He has fewer than 650 offensive snaps under his belt with the Wolfpack, and it shows. Belton committed eight penalties last year, including some false starts when he attempted to get an early jump on plays. He is guilty of committing other mental errors like oversetting, which opens the B-gap, and missing stunts because he ducks his head. Unfortunately, Belton deals with some physical limitations. His high-cut frame and leaner lower half lead to him giving ground to power rushers and bending at the waist. The JUCO product struggles to carry defenders up the arc and prevent them from turning the corner. His inconsistent clamp, diminishing lateral footwork, and poor body positioning allow defenders to win up the arc. Belton gets too wide in pass protection, which creates a steeper angle for him to cover to protect his quarterback. He lacks the footspeed and athleticism to succeed in these angles, meaning he needs to adjust his positioning and width gained in his set. Belton’s punches and hand usage need to be less predictable and timed better. His footwork compromises his balance at the point of contact in pass protection because he uses an inconsistent base and occasionally stalls his feet at first contact. Belton faced some of college football’s best pass rushers in 2022, including Myles Murphy, Jared Verse, and Tyree Wilson. The former three-star recruit struggled to sink his hips, maintain his base, and drop anchor against Wilson. Murphy and Verse both tested Belton vertically and beat him around the corner at the top of the arc. However, he also posted wins against all three first round-caliber opponents. Belton gets top-heavy in the run game, sometimes lunging or getting over his skis.

Overall, Belton’s game is full of minor inconsistencies that prevent him from being one of the top tackles in the upcoming class, but his physical traits and lack of experience suggest his ceiling could be as an eventual NFL starter. Belton is a developmental lineman who should make significant strides in his second year as a starter.

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

Round Projection: Late Third to Early Fourth

Size: 6'6", 336 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 07-13-23