Improving the left side of the line

[50-yard-line]

We do NOT need to draft a LG in order to have 3 youngsters starting on the left side.

We need one of the top free agent LG's.

Pats had a great offseason. The one non-move that I griped about was not going hard after Joe Thuney. High-intellect, great locker room, reliable...that one hurt.

 

[AQPE]

I see a guy there who can’t anchor. Not what I remember seeing pre injury. Let’s cool the jets here and see what he looks like after fully healing and going through the offseason program. I wouldn’t rule out any possible outcome for him next season. Can’t deny what we all saw with him these past four games, but equally so why deny what we saw from him weeks 1 - 13.

That said, anyone who thinks they can do a lot better than him in FA or the draft has clearly not been paying attention to either the options this offseason or the past at least five years. The best LT moved in FA or by trade in that timeframe was Tunsil, who didn’t exactly play lights out for Washington this year. The best option last year in FA was probably Dan Moore. The best OT drafted in the past 5 years? Someone tell me because I can’t think of one off the top of my head.

 

[p8ryts]

I originally posted this on reddit, but figured I'd share it here, too.

First off, let me take one thing off the table: the Patriots are not going to trade or cut Campbell. Cutting him means taking a $26M dead money hit, and even trading him would be $11M. Given they have $42M in cap space right now, that's not happening unless Campbell robs a bank or something.

Second, they have to take a holistic look at the line. The combination of Campbell/Wilson/Bradbury was good enough for the first three months of the season, but the version we got after Campbell and Wilson's injuries wasn't good enough for the top defenses that will stand in their path in the playoffs. But no matter how badly they played in the Super Bowl, Vrabel et al. can't simply assume "this is what they are and will always be."

Third, the biggest issue they face is teasing out exactly why their play declined over the last few weeks. As I see it, there are at least five factors that could have contributed here. In no particular order:

1. The rookie wall. Most college teams have essentially three months of games + a bowl game a month later. The NFL season is four months of games + four more games over the next five weeks. Even with the games Campbell and Wilson missed, it's still a grind, especially for players playing nearly every snap. [And Campbell just turned 22 a month ago, so his body isn't even finished developing yet; Wilson will turn 23 this offseason.
2. Their injuries. There's a difference between being a full participant in practice and being 100% healthy. As Vrabel said, almost no one is 100% by season's end, but I don't think Campbell or Wilson were at the same point they were before their injuries.
3. The tandem. Not only were Campbell and Wilson both dealing with those two issues, but they were also playing next to each other (plus Wilson was out of position). As I noted yesterday in another thread, not all OL combos work. They couldn't put Onwenu at LG in 2021 with Wynn playing LT, for example.
4. Technique issues. As an example, an All-Pro RT, Willie Anderson, gave his two cents on what Campbell needs to do this offseason in this post. The good news here is technique issues should be addressable. There hasn't been as much coverage of what Wilson can do, although I imagine it would be similar.
5. Physical limitations. This has been litigated ad nauseam here, especially for Campbell.

Vrabel et al. are going to have to make a decision on how to address the line. They have finite resources ($40M in cap space, #31 as their highest draft pick) and needs that go beyond the left side of the line (e.g., improving the pass rush and the pass catching group). The FAs also look less like a "Who's Who" and more like a "Who's That?".

One possibility (which I don't think will happen) is that they basically say "Time and experience will fix everything." Those should help, but I don't think they're enough.

I also don't think they're going to go into this offseason with the expectation that Campbell will move inside, given that I don't think they ever seriously had Campbell working at G at any point in the season. It could happen, but right now they don't even have a backup LT signed for next year (Lowe is a FA).

If I had to put money on what will happen, I think they will try to move Wilson to center (or have him backup Bradbury this year and take over in 2027), and focus on the LG position. In terms of resources, I think that's where they can get the most bang for their buck: it'd give Campbell veteran help and put Wilson at his best position. Maybe Ben Brown is that guy, but there are 8 guards in the top 100 of PFF's FA rankings.

You asked what they will, not what I think they should. I voted RG/RT for will, LT for should.

 

[hornetfb85]

I’d like to know what LT options are available in FA or at #31 that are better than WC. Not being a smartass, truly interested.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Will Campbell will get stronger. He looked like he was playing with ice skates on his feet yesterday.

 

[stelfans]

I’d like to know what LT options are available in FA or at #31 that are better than WC. Not being a smartass, truly interested.

I’m not sure there are any.
People talk about drafting someone like it’s just snapping your fingers. I won’t even get into draft details and say there is probably 1 LT prospect worthy of a top 60 pick, let alone the fact that we are picking #31, it’s gonna be a miracle if there are any worthy tackles available at all for the patriots to pick.

 

[lancerman]

I’d like to know what LT options are available in FA or at #31 that are better than WC. Not being a smartass, truly interested.

There won't be any that you can truly evaluate to be better, which is the problem here. If you think we need to move him from LT, you aren't going to pick someone in the bottom 15 of the first round that is going to have a profile comparable to him where you can say he is a clear upgrade. You could maybe upgrade at guard. But you would basically be taking a shot in the dark and hoping you lucked out.

Any OT even in the vicinity of him is going to go early. Right now most mocks have two OT's going in the top 6 and one is a right tackle and the other is just as likely to play either side. The next best lineman is a guard projected closer to the 20th pick. In fact, honestly this is a much better right tackle class and a left tackle class. Almost every projected tackle is on the right side.

 

[JoeSixPat]

They will bring in a free agent who has experience at LG and LT, and likely expend a high draft pick on a similar rookie.

They will value having players who can fill in at any position so we'll see those players get some time at LT and LG during the preseason

Buying a proven LT on the open market is going to run you around the same amount as the LT franchise tag - $25 million a season. And those players aren't usually available (they weren't last offseason, although no one wanted to play for the Pats then)

So I don't see them spending THAT much on an LT and then kick Campbell to LG (where he'd be great) - but I'd guess the hope is that they find someone with SOME LT experience to provide healthy competition to Campbell and if he wins the job, so be it

 

[KCSVEN]

 

[ScottishPatriot]

Interior:
Have Bradbury mentor Wilson into the center role over time. Get the young man out of that starting LG role and let him take his time to develop.
Prioritise LG in the draft. There are plenty college OTs who are projected to step inside to G at the pro level. There should be a good one available at 31, if not still at 63.

Tackles:

• Persevere with Will at LT; be realistic about his current floor, and get him the right specialised coaching and mentoring/peer support.
• Sign the Colts’ 30 y/o Braden Smith* for RT (projected to cost $13m/year**). Has history of stepping into LT when needed. Another mentor figure for Will, alongside Morgan Moses.
• Keep Moses around for his experience. Let him be the swing initially, but also draft a tackle at 31 or 63 who can step into that role eventually, and then over a longer stretch, that guy hopefully replaces Braden Smith at RT.

In terms of what this could mean for the rest of the off-season reinforcement, we would be left with a decent amount of cap space to go get one WR and one Edge.

For example:
WR Alec Pierce (26 y/o, projected $20m/year)
&
Edge Boye Mafe (27 y/o, proj. $8m/year).
or:
WR Romeo Doubs (26 y/o, proj. $12m/year)
&
Edge Joey Bosa (31 y/o, proj. $13.7m/year)

Draft a backup LB and TE2 in mid rounds.

*All ages are listed as at the start of the 2026 season
**All projections from Spotrac

 

[VrabelJr]

It’s highly draft board dependent what we do at OL. We have another season to be patient.

 

[Toofy]

What about hiring Jeff stoutland as our Oline coach ? Coach Marrone has really unraveled big time.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Interior:
Have Bradbury mentor Wilson into the center role over time. Get the young man out of that starting LG role and let him take his time to develop.
Prioritise LG in the draft. There are plenty college OTs who are projected to step inside to G at the pro level. There should be a good one available at 31, if not still at 63.

Tackles:

• Persevere with Will at LT; be realistic about his current floor, and get him the right specialised coaching and mentoring/peer support.
• Sign the Colts’ 30 y/o Braden Smith* for RT (projected to cost $13m/year**). Has history of stepping into LT when needed. Another mentor figure for Will, alongside Morgan Moses.
• Keep Moses around for his experience. Let him be the swing initially, but also draft a tackle at 31 or 63 who can step into that role eventually, and then over a longer stretch, that guy hopefully replaces Braden Smith at RT.

In terms of what this could mean for the rest of the off-season reinforcement, we would be left with a decent amount of cap space to go get one WR and one Edge.

For example:
WR Alec Pierce (26 y/o, projected $20m/year)
&
Edge Boye Mafe (27 y/o, proj. $8m/year).
or:
WR Romeo Doubs (26 y/o, proj. $12m/year)
&
Edge Joey Bosa (31 y/o, proj. $13.7m/year)

Draft a backup LB and TE2 in mid rounds.

*All ages are listed as at the start of the 2026 season
**All projections from Spotrac

Not sure about Moses as the swing tackle. He's a respected vet and still a starting caliber RT. I think out of respect for him, if you're going to upgrade over him, you work to trade him to a team he's happy with. A team we trade him to only assumes his $6.5M salary this year ($4.5M guaranteed) and his $8M nonguaranteed salary next year, plus the incentives. It's a very reasonable 1 year stop gap RT so there should be a market for him if we're just giving him away.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I originally posted this on reddit, but figured I'd share it here, too.

First off, let me take one thing off the table: the Patriots are not going to trade or cut Campbell. Cutting him means taking a $26M dead money hit, and even trading him would be $11M. Given they have $42M in cap space right now, that's not happening unless Campbell robs a bank or something.

Second, they have to take a holistic look at the line. The combination of Campbell/Wilson/Bradbury was good enough for the first three months of the season, but the version we got after Campbell and Wilson's injuries wasn't good enough for the top defenses that will stand in their path in the playoffs. But no matter how badly they played in the Super Bowl, Vrabel et al. can't simply assume "this is what they are and will always be."

Third, the biggest issue they face is teasing out exactly why their play declined over the last few weeks. As I see it, there are at least five factors that could have contributed here. In no particular order:

1. The rookie wall. Most college teams have essentially three months of games + a bowl game a month later. The NFL season is four months of games + four more games over the next five weeks. Even with the games Campbell and Wilson missed, it's still a grind, especially for players playing nearly every snap. [And Campbell just turned 22 a month ago, so his body isn't even finished developing yet; Wilson will turn 23 this offseason.
2. Their injuries. There's a difference between being a full participant in practice and being 100% healthy. As Vrabel said, almost no one is 100% by season's end, but I don't think Campbell or Wilson were at the same point they were before their injuries.
3. The tandem. Not only were Campbell and Wilson both dealing with those two issues, but they were also playing next to each other (plus Wilson was out of position). As I noted yesterday in another thread, not all OL combos work. They couldn't put Onwenu at LG in 2021 with Wynn playing LT, for example.
4. Technique issues. As an example, an All-Pro RT, Willie Anderson, gave his two cents on what Campbell needs to do this offseason in this post. The good news here is technique issues should be addressable. There hasn't been as much coverage of what Wilson can do, although I imagine it would be similar.
5. Physical limitations. This has been litigated ad nauseam here, especially for Campbell.

Vrabel et al. are going to have to make a decision on how to address the line. They have finite resources ($40M in cap space, #31 as their highest draft pick) and needs that go beyond the left side of the line (e.g., improving the pass rush and the pass catching group). The FAs also look less like a "Who's Who" and more like a "Who's That?".

One possibility (which I don't think will happen) is that they basically say "Time and experience will fix everything." Those should help, but I don't think they're enough.

I also don't think they're going to go into this offseason with the expectation that Campbell will move inside, given that I don't think they ever seriously had Campbell working at G at any point in the season. It could happen, but right now they don't even have a backup LT signed for next year (Lowe is a FA).

If I had to put money on what will happen, I think they will try to move Wilson to center (or have him backup Bradbury this year and take over in 2027), and focus on the LG position. In terms of resources, I think that's where they can get the most bang for their buck: it'd give Campbell veteran help and put Wilson at his best position. Maybe Ben Brown is that guy, but there are 8 guards in the top 100 of PFF's FA rankings.

I'm hoping it will be Lindebaum at Center, and then a RT/RG in the draft. Unlike many fans Grabel believes in getting the right guys and then developing them. That takes time and support. I think he expects all of this years rookies to make a big jump next season, and he won't be looking to replace them, he'll be looking to build around them.

 

[mgteich]

What about hiring Jeff stoutland as our Oline coach ? Coach Marrone has really unraveled big time.

ROFL

 

[n1997y]

…
Buying a proven LT on the open market is going to run you around the same amount as the LT franchise tag - $25 million a season. And those players aren't usually available (they weren't last offseason, although no one wanted to play for the Pats then)

So I don't see them spending THAT much on an LT and then kick Campbell to LG (where he'd be great) - but I'd guess the hope is that they find someone with SOME LT experience to provide healthy competition to Campbell and if he wins the job, so be it

They found him. His name is Vederian Lowe.

I keep trying to tell everyone advocating making Will Campbell play LG that means your LT will be Vederian Lowe, or someone just like him, because there is nobody else better to be found.

 

[stephens44]

Personally, I wanted them to trade down in 2025 and draft Membou and lock up RT, then have a one year band aid at LT.
As it stands now, I'd like to see Wilson at Center, Campbell at LG, Onwenu at RG, draft an OT in round 1, and get the best OT they can through FA. Preferably draft a RT and pay the money for a quality proven LT. They already have the depth players.

 

[manxman2601]

From a draft perspective.

Potential LTs available:

Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
Monroe Freeling, Georgia
Caleb Lomu, Utah
Caleb Tiernan, Northwestern

Proctor is seen by many as a future guard a la Mekhi Becton. Has outstanding length, size and athleticism but put some dodgy performances on tape, particularly earlier in the season.

Freeling is the draft forum favourite. He has experience at LT and RT, has good size at 6'7", 315 and only surrendered 9 pressures total on the year. Not the best run blocking grades though.

Lomu is potentially undersized. He's listed at 6'6", 308 but I've seen him discussed as being sub 300lbs. Very athletic and strong in pass pro but not a lot of power as a run blocker. I also question his level of competition in the big 12. not many NFL level pass rushers there aside from Texas Tech - his worst game.

Tiernan - Great size at 6'7", 325lbs but reportedly very short arms at sub 33" which probably rules him out as an upgrade to Campbell.

There are two others of interest.

Blake Miller, Clemson
Max Iheanachor, Arizona State

Both have good size, excellent in Iheanachor's case at 6'5 1/2, 325 lbs, and long arms. both have good feet too to play LT. However, both only have experience at RT*.

*Edit: Blake Miller does have 100 career snaps at LT but that's all.

 

[JoeSixPat]

They found him. His name is Vederian Lowe.

I keep trying to tell everyone advocating making Will Campbell play LG that means your LT will be Vederian Lowe, or someone just like him, because there is nobody else better to be found.

If he'll sign another contract like his last one, then he absolutely should be re-signed as quality depth. Heck, throw some kickers into that contract to pay him better if he were to secure starting snaps.

But with a PFF score of 61 he's not done too much to displace Campbell

Campbell's 72 PFF score isn't that much better, though we're now being told he was playing with torn ligaments.

That injury actually tracks with the eyeball test that Campbell has been getting moved and backed up consistently throughout the playoffs - but one thing to his credit - in previous playoff and regular season games his techinique, allowing himself to be backed up while NOT letting them get to Maye, deserves some credit.

I could tell something was going on but he actually had some statistically good games of keeping Maye safe - though the full OL was weak as evidenced by the 5 sack average even before the SB (though the eyeball test also tells me that at times, Maye took sacks when he could have thrown it away, but I digress.)

I would not be upset if Lowe is re-signed as quality OL depth but I think they will be spending some $ looking at an LG to upgrade that position which helps Campbell - and I think we may see a college LT convert to LG - who could wind up providing more competition than Lowe.

If Lowe had proven himself in his 3 years here before they wouldn't have drafted Campbell in the first place.

 

[Steve102]

I see a guy there who can’t anchor. Not what I remember seeing pre injury. Let’s cool the jets here and see what he looks like after fully healing and going through the offseason program.