Potential Patriots draft pick goes viral while discussing role as offensive lineman
"You give up one sack a game for 12 games, you’re going to work at Amazon."
The Patriots have several glaring roster deficiencies that must be addressed this offseason.
And while New England is on the cusp of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the case can be made that the Patriots should trade down for more draft capital — especially if the team still lands a top-10 pick and adds a tackle like LSU’s Will Campbell.
While using a top-10 pick on an offensive tackle may not draw the same headlines as a playmaker like Travis Hunter or Tetairoa McMillan, a potential franchise left tackle like Campbell could be a foundational piece that offers some much-needed stability on a porous offensive line.
And in a clip that has now gone viral, it seems like the 20-year-old tackle is already operating with the mindset of a grizzled NFL vet when it comes to the (usually unheralded) responsibilities that befall offensive linemen.
“If you’ve ever got the time, go back and watch my first play of college football,” Campbell told reporters in November in a clip now making the rounds online. “I got my face ran through. Punished. And that’s just what it is. To be thrown in the fire like this against good teams, these dudes are trying to get paid. All they’ve got to do is get to the quarterback.
“One thing we live by in the O-line room. A D-lineman gets one sack a game, and that’s the only thing he can do, 12 games? He’ll be a top-5 pick. You give up one sack a game for 12 games, you’re going to work at Amazon. Nothing wrong with that. But whenever we’re here, this is what I’m striving for.”
Campbell has been as steady as they come this season turning aside some of the top pass-rushers in college football. After anchoring an LSU offensive line that helped Jayden Daniels take home a Heisman Trophy in 2023, Campbell has held his own once again as a junior in 2024.
He was named a finalist for the Lombardi Trophy — given annually to the best collegiate lineman on either side of the ball, while also earning four first-team All-America honors by the Associated Press, Walter Camp, the American Football Coaches Association, and the Football Writers Association of America Team.
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