Patriots leave no doubt about what position Will Campbell will play

Will Campbell started 38 games at left tackle for LSU throughout his three-year collegiate career. Despite being named first-team All-SEC two years in a row at the position, many wondered if his NFL future would come at guard due to being well-below average in the arm length and wingspan department for a tackle.

But as the New England Patriots selected Campbell fourth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, they did so with the thought of him being a tackle.

“That’s where he started. He’s a left tackle. That’s what he’s played, that’s what he’s done,” head coach Mike Vrabel said after the pick. “He’ll come in here and he’ll compete to be the left tackle just like everybody else is going to compete for their spots. That’s what we’re trying to create here, somewhere that there’s competition at every position and that our players believe that the best players are going to play.”

Having a 21st percentile arm length and seventh percentile wing span among offensive linemen, Campbell had to win other ways throughout his young career. His success primarily came from his nasty demeanor and excellent athletic profile as he recorded a 9.91 Relative Athletic Score at the NFL Combine.

“Everybody has a play style, everybody has a skill set, and it’s what you do within that skill set and the tricks that you learn in this business and how you play and how you do your job,” Vrabel said. “I think he’s learned a lot of those, to play on the left side and to pass protect. For a taller player, he sinks his hips in the run game and is able to stay attached in the pass game, widen the pocket and create the width of the pocket and get out on the perimeter. It’s a total package.”

Campbell’s lack of length was apparent at times, however, as he would overset and be vulnerable to inside moves. For Vrabel, the entire body of work — which includes just four allowed sacks over three years — overweighs the occasional loss seen on the field.

“His body of work is out there on the left side against a lot of really good rushers,” Vrabel said. “They’re all going to get beat. We can watch every time that a left tackle gets beat. They all get beat. I’ve been in this league for 25 years. I’m confident in how quickly he is able to process, change, and have a lot of different pitches at such a young age.”

Arriving in Foxboro Friday morning, New England expects Campbell to hit the ground running. Coming from LSU’s pro-style offense, Campbell ranked first among the top prospects in this year’s draft with 229 true pass sets. He allowed just 12 total pressures on the plays.

With the experience in Baton Rouge and recent visits with New England’s staff, Campbell projects to take over Drake Maye’s blindside rather quickly where he’ll hope to help improve an offensive line that ranked last in pass block win rate last season.

“When you talk about coming from there, they threw the ball a ton,” Vrabel said. “He had more drop-back snaps than pretty much anybody else in college football. They threw the ball 50 times, and it wasn’t RPOs like everybody else. He’s pass-protected. He’s run-blocked. He’s coming out of a pro system. The terminology, he’s already been through it, I don’t know how many times with our guys and with me, and I think it’s going to be a quick learning curve as far as the scheme.

“Again, there’s going to be a learning curve and adjustment to everything that he does. He’s coming from a great program, one that’s built similar to pro football. Football is very important to him. We’ll also, just like every other player, give him exactly what they can handle.”

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