2025 NFL Draft prospect profile – Anthony Belton, OL, NC State

Could Belton be a developmental lineman for the Giants?

The New York Giants are unlikely to invest a high draft pick along the offensive line. However, they could still use some young linemen to help fortify their front and give them options in the future.

NC State’s Anthony Belton is a big, powerful lineman but also somewhat unrefined at this point in his development. He has many of the traits that teams look for in tackles as well as guards, and they could view him as a giant lump of clay.

While Belton has almost exclusively played on the left side for the last three seasons, could he be the right tackle — or guard — of the future in New York?

Prospect: Anthony Belton (74)
Games Watched: vs. Wake Forest (2023), vs. Western Carolina (2024), vs. Tennessee (2024), vs. North Carolina (2024)

Measurables

Kent Lee Platte | RAS.football

Strengths

Best traits

• Size
• Play strength
• Competitive toughness
• Run blocking

Anthony Belton is a massive offensive tackle who plays with great power and impressive competitive toughness. Belton has a huge frame at 6-foot-6, 336 pounds and has solid length as well with 34-inch arms.

He has great thickness in his upper and lower halves, and has the play strength to match.

Belton is easily able to anchor against power rushers and is a surprisingly smooth mover within his range. He has heavy hands and has shown improved technique over the last two seasons. He’s able to disrupt rushes with a hard punch, and he has impressive grip strength to sustain his blocks and control defenders.

He’s a predictably powerful run blocker who’s able to generate movement along the line of scrimmage, dig defenders out of gaps, and sustain his blocks for as long as necessary. He’s able to execute outside zone blocks or be a pulling blocker, but he’s at his best blocking in man-gap or inside zone schemes.

Belton also plays with an impressive mean streak and great competitive toughness. Belton is constantly looking for work and is a menace blocking at the second level. He also consistently looks to finish his blocks with the defender on the ground, going so far as to jump on them to keep them from pursuing the ball carrier.

Weaknesses

Worst traits

• Balance
• Foot quickness

Belton’s greatest weakness is his relative lack of athleticism. He’s a smooth mover within his range, but he lacks great foot quickness as well as recovery athleticism.

He can struggle against particularly abrupt moves or quick edge rushers. He doesn’t have the foot quickness to redirect suddenly, nor can he make up ground if he’s beaten initially. He can be prone to lunging at defenders or losing his balance if he has to change directions to match surprising inside moves or well-disguised pressure.

And while Belton has improved his leverage and pad level over his time at NC State, he can still be prone to letting his knees straighten over the course of longer reps. That can lead to waist-bending or outright lunging at defenders.

Finally, he needs to continue to refine and become more consistent in his hand placement. That’s another area in which he’s made marked improvement as a regular starter, but he can still be a bit prone to letting his hands drift wide or being late with his punch.

Game Tape

(Belton is the NC State left tackle wearing number 74)

Projection

Anthony Belton is a developmental offensive lineman at the NFL level, with starting upside with some work.

He has the size and length to play tackle in the NFL and teams that feature downhill running games will find a lot to work with. Belton is a better run blocker than pass protector at this point in his development, though he’s shown impressive improvement to date.

Some teams could view Belton as a potential candidate to move inside to guard. His power and competitive toughness would play well inside, though his height could be an issue. That said, not having to move as far could help him be more consistent with his leverage and hand usage.

It will likely come down to each team’s blocking scheme and whether they believe his footwork will continue to improve with practice and coaching. Teams could also ask Belton to lose a bit of weight to help improve his overall athleticism.

Does he fit the Giants?
Potentially, as a developmental prospect

Final Word: A late Day 2 or early Day 3 value