In an unsettled defensive line room, an unheralded newcomer is making his mark.
Anthony Campbell, a 6-foot-6, 307-pound prospect who’s spent his still-young career on the fringes of the NFL, has thrown his name in the ring as a contender for the Packers’ 53-man roster. As Javon Hargrave and Devonte Wyatt come along slowly in their recovery from injuries, Campbell has been batting passes and turning heads.
To this point in camp, Campbell has used his lengthy build to swat as many as four passes over
the Packers’ last three practices while also showing up big in one-on-one matchups. He went 4-0 in individual pass rushing drills yesterday, according to Pete Dougherty, beating 2025 second round pick Anthony Belton twice, 2026 fifth rounder Jager Burton once, and 2026 undrafted free agent Josh Gesky once. That’s hardly a murderer’s row, but it’s nothing to sneeze at either; they’re not All-Pros, but Belton, Burton, and Gesky are all significant pieces of the Packers’ offensive line picture.
But Campbell, to this point, has barely been in the picture at all, and that’s pretty much true of everywhere he’s been in his long football journey. Even in the picture I used for this article, Campbell (number 60) is an afterthought, but it’s literally the only image of him in the databases for either Getty Images or USA Today. He can’t even get top billing over the similarly unheralded Jaden Crumedy.
So who is Campbell and how did he get here?
A three-star recruit out of Florida’s Bartow High School, Campbell took a meandering path to the NFL. After a high school career that had him spending time at tight end and defensive end (highlighted by a 79-yard scoop and score fumble recovery), Campbell spent two years at Independence Community College in Kansas before landing at the University of Louisiana Monroe. In two seasons for the Warhawks, Campbell appeared in 17 games, recording 13 total tackles and the lone sack of his college career.
After two years in Louisiana, Campbell transferred to Miami, putting him only about four hours from where he grew up. He’d play a small rotational role for the Hurricanes, appearing in just one game in 2023 and another eight in 2024. Though he’d total just 47 snaps as a senior, 10 came as a nose tackle, perhaps a nod to his bulked-up build; he’d played at 277 pounds at UL-Monroe, but was listed at an even 300 pounds at Miami.
Campbell put up solid numbers in the 2025 pre-draft process, highlighted by a 9-foot, 3-inch broad jump and a decent 40-yard dash time to go with his prodigious frame. Still, pre-draft buzz was understandably hard to come by, and Campbell projected as an undrafted free agent. Dane Brugler rated him as the 115th best defensive lineman (out of 240) in the class in the 2025 edition of The Beast.
Post-draft, Campbell landed with the Seahawks after minicamp tryouts with the Vikings and Eagles and spent the 2025 preseason there, playing 23 snaps across Seattle’s three exhibition games. He signed with the Seahawks’ practice squad on September 2, 2025, only to be released a day later in a series of transactions that will be of note to Packers fans. Former Packers defensive back Shemar Jean-Charles, current Packers running back Damien Martinez and one other player were released to make way for Campbell and two others on the Seattle practice squad, only for all six players to swap places again the very next day. Now, two of the six players involved are in Green Bay — the NFL world truly is small.
Campbell finally arrived in Green Bay as a part of a flurry of late-season transactions leading up to the Packers’ playoff game against the Chicago Bears, joining the practice squad as one of 29 roster moves in a 13-day window. He didn’t appear in that playoff game — Isaiah Neyor was the only practice squad elevation — but the Packers thought enough of him to sign him to a reserve/future deal two days after their collapse in Chicago.
Now, Campbell finds himself with a chance to make some noise in a defensive line group that can use all the help it can get. Defensive line has been a weakness in Green Bay for years, and injuries up front left them perilously thin at points last season. Nobody should count on Campbell to be a star, but if he can at least be a worthwhile depth piece, that’ll be a significant help to the Packers.
He’ll have competition. Beyond Wyatt and Hargrave, 2026 third-round pick Chris McClellan is the only roster lock, but fourth-year Karl Brooks and second-year Warren Brinson should be considered good bets. That’s already five roster spots accounted for, leaving Campbell to compete with second-year Nazir Stackhouse and others for a job that may not even exist.
But considering what he’s survived just to get to this point, it’s hard to bet against him. He’s come out of nowhere everywhere he’s been. What’s one more unexpected run to a roster spot?
