Patriots select Will Campbell with No. 4 pick in 2025 NFL Draft
Campbell, an All-American left tackle at LSU, will look to protect Drake Maye’s blindside for the foreseeable future in Foxborough.
After months of deliberation, the Patriots finally made their call with the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft — selecting left tackle Will Campbell out of Louisiana State University.
The 21-year-old Campbell has long held court as the top tackle prospect in this draft class, with New England adding the 6-foot-6-inch, 319-pound offensive lineman to their roster in hopes of finding a franchise fixture that can protect Drake Maye’s blind side for the foreseeable future.
A three-year starter at LSU, Campbell has held court as one of the best offensive tackles in the country over the last few seasons — allowing just five sacks in his college career.
He was named a consensus All-American and won the Jones Blocking Trophy in 2024 after relinquishing just two sacks.
But Campbell’s potential as an elite franchise tackle is far from a guarantee.
During the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Campbell’s arm length measured 32 5/8 inches and his wingspan was recorded at 77 3/8 inches.
Both measures are considered smaller than average for an NFL offensive tackle — raising concerns that Campbell may not have the frame to hold up as an offensive tackle, and might be better suited for reps at guard moving forward.
“For two years, nobody had any measurements on me and nobody said anything about my play,” Campbell said last month of those measurements hurting his draft stock. “So now, all of a sudden, arm length decides if I’m a good player or not? I think it’s B.S. … Any decision makers in the NFL, they don’t really care. It’s all people who don’t coach, and they don’t coach for a reason.”
Clearly, the Patriots shared a similar sentiment as Campbell when it came to downplaying things like arm length.
Despite those below-average measurements, Campbell’s overall body of work — coupled with New England’s struggles at the line of scrimmage — prompted the Patriots to target him with their first-round pick.
The Patriots struggled to protect both Jacoby Brissett and Maye during the 2024 season. New England allowed 52 sacks this season, which stood as the most sacks allowed in New England over one year since 1999.
Campbell would represent an immediate upgrade over last season’s tackle corps.
New England brought in Chukwuma Okorafor (who primarily played right tackle with the Steelers) to play left tackle in 2024 — with the veteran only playing 12 total snaps before leaving the team in early September.
Okorafor’s exit led to both Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs elevated into starting roles. Lowe and Jacobs ranked 102nd and 138th, respectively, among 141 offensive tackles last season, per PFF.
After signing veteran Morgan Moses this offseason to slot in at right tackle, Campbell will conceivably stabilize things at left tackle.
Given New England’s evident deficiencies across the offensive line this past season, Campbell has been linked to the team for months now.
Campbell first visited with New England in March for a pre-draft meeting, with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adding Thursday afternoon that Patriots’ front-office personnel traveled to Louisiana in recent days to visit with Campbell.
“New England has been linked to the All-American tackle with its No. 4 overall pick and is doing more work on him late in the process,” Fowler noted on X.
Speaking in Green Bay earlier this week, Campbell expressed an affinity for the Patriots after meeting with them on several occasions.
“It was awesome how much history in Foxborough and being able to go up there, meet with the staff, meet with the guys,” Campbell told The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin. “Coach [Mike] Vrabel is my kind of guy, all ball, no BS. That’s what I like. It went good, we’ll see what happens.”
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