The leader of Auburn’s offensive line is off to the NFL.
Starting center Connor Lew officially declared for the NFL Draft on Sunday, putting an end to his three-year Auburn career. ESPN NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper ranks Lew as the No. 3 interior offensive lineman in the upcoming draft.
Lew was one of Auburn’s most consistent players on Auburn’s offensive line in the early part of the season. Making all the calls at center, Lew was a projected first round pick by some draft experts earlier in the year.
His 2025 season ended prematurely, though, after Lew tore his ACL against Missouri on Oct. 18. That forced him to miss the remainder of the season and will likely limit him in workouts leading up to the draft in April.
Lew became Auburn’s starting center as a freshman in 2023, first seeing the field following an injury to then starter Avery Jones. Lew never lost his starting job after that, starting every game in 2024 and the first seven in 2025 before his injury.
His declaration for the draft is another blow to an Auburn offensive line that is already set to lose a handful of contributors.
Starters Mason Murphy, Jeremiah Wright, Dillon Wade and Izavion Miller are all out of eligibility, and starting left tackle Xavier Chaplin recently declared his intentions to enter the transfer portal. With Lew adding to those departures, Auburn will need to replace all five starters on the offensive line.
Kail Ellis, who briefly started in Lew’s place after the injury, seems to be next in line for the job at center. He played in eight games as a 17-year-old freshman in 2025, starting twice. Auburn will also likely target multiple offensive linemen in the transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2.