Former Patriot David Andrews Believes Lomu Will Push Campbell For Starting Role

[JoeSixPat]

I'm already on the record last year that if someone beats out Campbell for the LT spot, so be it - the best guy gets the job

Before his injury he wasn't perfect, but he was pretty good especially considering he's a rookie playing at a very high level.

He was the first OT taken in 2025 so I'm not sure why everyone is so convinced the 7th OT taken in 2026 is clearly better - though I'm also on the record well before the draft saying Lomu was my preferred pick to be a swing tackle, who like many college LTs, project at RT in the NFL. But I was also clear that I welcomed competition to push Campbell so I'll be happy to see that play out and let the best guy protect Maye.

The bottom line is we NEED a swing tackle who can backup LT if needed and step in at RT if need be this year or next - so that's a given.

Lomu will ABSOLUTELY get snaps at LT in camp and probably in preseason games. That doesn't mean Campbell's job is in jeopardy.

I think he'll also get snaps at LG as we know AVT is a big injury question mark, so Lomu's role this year will be to learn multiple OL positions in case Moses or AVT goes down with injury.

Now if that DOES happen and Campbell transitions to become a mainstay at LG, I'm sure fans who are unfamiliar with John Hannah will absolutely declare him to be a bust or a reach at #4 - but they'll be wrong

The good news is that Dante likes our OL picks so that bodes well for us.

Former assistant coach Dante Scarnecchia has high praise for Patriots draft picks - The Boston Globe

The former Patriots assistant really liked what he saw from first-round pick Caleb Lomu (Utah) and sixth-round selection Dametrious Crownover (Texas A&M).

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[rkarp1]

It seems very wrong to expect our future to be Lumo at RT when he is a much better LT.

Of course, this is a 2027 issue unless Moses is our traditional veteran OL camp retiree.

everyone is entitled to an opinion, even Andrews
but everything I read and see says Lomu is no where ready to play, and needs a minute, as most rookies do (Campbell did not)
unless Lomu comes in and plays well beyond expectations, I assume he will play is some situations to spell other players, play if someone injures. otherwise, learn, improve his technique and get stronger. year 2 will be big for him

 

[rkarp1]

needs to get bigger, stronger and lose the man boobs

 

[JoeSixPat]

It seems very wrong to expect our future to be Lumo at RT when he is a much better LT.

Of course, this is a 2027 issue unless Moses is our traditional veteran OL camp retiree.

You may be surprised to learn this but there are a LOT of college LTs (especially those a little undersized or with short arms) who transition to RT and have long and productive careers as starters at RT.

You may be especially shocked to learn that includes a LONG list of ProBowlers and Hall of Famers.

That being said, it's not as simple as some think as it requires reversing footwork and technique, and not every LT can do that.

But if anyone beats out Campbell and he winds up moving to LG (which I'd think would be more likely than a switch to RT) so be it.

Many fans will declare him a bust at #4 like they did when the Pats drafted John Hannah at the same spot.

But it's his position to lose right now, and I expect him to be better once fully healthy and a year under his belt. It also couldn't have helped him to have a weak LG playing next to him either. But for those who liked Wilson at LG, they should love him at Center.

Personally I think Ben Brown played better than Wilson at LG - I don't mind having AVT signed, but with his injury history, we could see him coming back at LG, and could also see him filling in a Center if Wilson plays as well as he did at LG last year.

This will sort itself out, one way or another, but just keep in mind that a transition from LT to RT isn't as rare as you seem to think.

 

[PatsFan2]

Oh look, another thread on how much Will Campbell sucks.

 

[mayoclinic]

I'm already on the record last year that if someone beats out Campbell for the LT spot, so be it - the best guy gets the job

Before his injury he wasn't perfect, but he was pretty good especially considering he's a rookie playing at a very high level.

He was the first OT taken in 2025 so I'm not sure why everyone is so convinced the 7th OT taken in 2026 is clearly better - though I'm also on the record well before the draft saying Lomu was my preferred pick to be a swing tackle, who like many college LTs, project at RT in the NFL. But I was also clear that I welcomed competition to push Campbell so I'll be happy to see that play out and let the best guy protect Maye.

The bottom line is we NEED a swing tackle who can backup LT if needed and step in at RT if need be this year or next - so that's a given.

Lomu will ABSOLUTELY get snaps at LT in camp and probably in preseason games. That doesn't mean Campbell's job is in jeopardy.

I think he'll also get snaps at LG as we know AVT is a big injury question mark, so Lomu's role this year will be to learn multiple OL positions in case Moses or AVT goes down with injury.

Now if that DOES happen and Campbell transitions to become a mainstay at LG, I'm sure fans who are unfamiliar with John Hannah will absolutely declare him to be a bust or a reach at #4 - but they'll be wrong

The good news is that Dante likes our OL picks so that bodes well for us.

Former assistant coach Dante Scarnecchia has high praise for Patriots draft picks - The Boston Globe

The former Patriots assistant really liked what he saw from first-round pick Caleb Lomu (Utah) and sixth-round selection Dametrious Crownover (Texas A&M).

www.bostonglobe.com

You cannot have too much quality and depth at OL. I want our 3rd string OL to be better than the terrible starting OL we had in 2024. The more depth and versatility, the better.

Will Campbell far exceeded my expectations in 2025 prior to injury. I think he has the ability to be a top 10 LT. That is great. if it turns out that he is not even the best LT on the team, that is even better.

I hope Lomu gets snaps everywhere and plays everywhere. That will only help the team.

I do think that Will Campbell never fit the mold of a classic LT. He wins because of his toughness, physicality, athleticism, and intelligence. Lomu has classic dancing bear footwork and mirroring. He was the #7 OT taken, but the #1 OT in terms of those skills, and many people projected him as the #1 OT during the season because of that.

I'm not personally worrying very much about how things ultimately sort out. Yiu can't have too many good offensive linemen.

 

[upstater1]

needs to get bigger, stronger and lose the man boobs

Tackles can look like Orlando Pace and still be excellent. Few of them are entering the Mr. Olympia contest.

 

[upstater1]

You may be surprised to learn this but there are a LOT of college LTs (especially those a little undersized or with short arms) who transition to RT and have long and productive careers as starters at RT.

You may be especially shocked to learn that includes a LONG list of ProBowlers and Hall of Famers.

That being said, it's not as simple as some think as it requires reversing footwork and technique, and not every LT can do that.

But if anyone beats out Campbell and he winds up moving to LG (which I'd think would be more likely than a switch to RT) so be it.

Many fans will declare him a bust at #4 like they did when the Pats drafted John Hannah at the same spot.

But it's his position to lose right now, and I expect him to be better once fully healthy and a year under his belt. It also couldn't have helped him to have a weak LG playing next to him either. But for those who liked Wilson at LG, they should love him at Center.

Personally I think Ben Brown played better than Wilson at LG - I don't mind having AVT signed, but with his injury history, we could see him coming back at LG, and could also see him filling in a Center if Wilson plays as well as he did at LG last year.

This will sort itself out, one way or another, but just keep in mind that a transition from LT to RT isn't as rare as you seem to think.

If Campbell needs to be moved from LT, I think RT is his only spot. I don't see guard characteristics in him. He's pretty tall and his base is just different than most guards.

 

[Water Boy]

Is it weird to think Campbell might be a fine RT if Lomu is the LT? He won't see as many of the elite pass rushers on that side so his arm length is less of a problem, but he's still a very strong athletic dude who can get push. He might need to bulk up just a little but I feel like it'd be just fine.

Steve Palazollo strongly disagrees with the notion that its harder to play left tackle than right. He's got some stats that he references and cites that there are many top end DEs that line up over the right tackle.

I don't fully buy in given that QB's can't turn their heads 270 degrees.

 

[rkarp1]

Tackles can look like Orlando Pace and still be excellent. Few of them are entering the Mr. Olympia contest.

ok, but man boobs?

 

[JayNM]

When I say this, people go crazy

Now ****ING ANDREWS is kinda agreeing with me

What a time to bell alive

 

[DaBruinz]

That's not the issue. The year we had Brian Winters at RG he was clearly the most talented player on the OL. At guard. Not tackle.

But length matters. Nothing will ever change that on Stubby.

Lomu is very talented and has the length. Can't have another disaster like last year's SB.

Dante Scarnecchia called. He says you need to sit down because you have no idea what you're talking about.

You don't even understand what happened in the Super Bowl.

 

[DaBruinz]

Yeah. YOU were complaining about Matt Light, who had short arms too. But was an ALL-PRO at LT.

Dante Scarnecchia says you're TOYA.

 

[Pape]

When I say this, people go crazy

Now ****ING ANDREWS is kinda agreeing with me

What a time to bell alive

well, he's better looking, so there's that... and you wear funny glasses in your avatar...

 

[Huckleberry1]

needs to get bigger, stronger and lose the man boobs

There isn't an OL in the NFL that doesn't have man boobs. None of them are ripped, but all have a ton of muscle underneath that fat.

 

[jdlboot14]

This is stupid talk. All of it.
Campbell was the best rated OT from a top SEC school at LSU. He was so good as a rookie, no one talked about him until he got hurt.
The only surprise was that Lowe was suddenly not trash. Then, Campbell was slow, lacked power and was overthinking everything after injury - which, btw, happened to be during the playoffs! Playoffs! And he got manhandled by the best DL in a decade in the SB.

None of that means he can't come back and be a very good LT as a freaking 22 year old for the next 10+ years.

Lomu is a giant baby from Utah - where they get married at 18. Even the NFL boosters can't ignore his lack of toughness and aggression. I'd love to see a TC competition with Lomu and Big Country.
Lomu can learn to carry Moses' jock while he prepares to play RT next year. I'm out.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I'm not personally worrying very much about how things ultimately sort out. Yiu can't have too many good offensive linemen.

1st and 2nd round OL generally have the best success rate for any position in the draft (with the exception of this year when the quality dropped off in the 2nd round) - and plenty of guys in later rounds that become long term starters. (Compare that to WRs or other positions in the first round for success rate)

Seems to me given the increasingly outrageous free agent prices for Tackles and now Centers being around $27 million a year plus, you could make a strong case that OL should ALWAYS be a priority at the top of the draft and throughout.

Just imagine, you could develop your own young, good, cheap OL - especially the higher priced positions - with guys on their initial rookie contracts for 4 or 5 years. If you draft well you'll have 5 guys that are on contracts costing $5-$10 million a year

OR you can go shopping in free agency for guys who are costing $20-$30 million a year.

If you're paying $25 mil per year for your OL compared to $25-$30 million per guy per year, that can free up $100 million to spend on other positions in free agency where the draft is more of a bust risk.

It's not going to fully work out where you have no FAs on the line, but during these days of cap management, building in the draft is what makes you a great team, and you're bound to have a better track record with OL than other positions high in the draft

 

[Gumby]

Anyone saying Lomu is replacing Campbell… at absolute best YOU ARE A YEAR EARLY.

And Andrews said „push“ NOT „ REPLACE“ so don’t say I’m challenging an expert.

WC hit the rookie wall & was injured at start of playoffs. So now the Wile-E-Coyote short arms crowd want to say a 3d round less aggressive, younger, less strong kid should replace WC….. and then we HIT THE EXACT SAME WALL IN GAME 18. …. Genius I tell you.

And that is ONLY IF EVERYTHING GOES RIGHT in this imaginary short-Arms suck universe. ….. If everything goes as I expect; WC is not only healthy but also bigger stronger more durable than last year.

Yeah, great deal if Lomu pushes WC to do an extra rep in weight training, run hill 1 sec faster. But at end of day ….. PUSHING IS NOT REPLACING.

 

[mayoclinic]

Great post, @JoeSixPat.

I think there is a strong argument for almost always investing a day 1-2 pick in the OL.

Right now we have:

2025 1(4) Will Campbell
2025 3(95) Jared Wilson
2026 1(28) Caleb Lomu

Plus FA Alijah Vera-Tucker (2021 1(14)).

Vera-Tucker and Wilson are signed through 2028, Campbell through 2028 with an option on 2029, Lomu through 2029 with an option on 2030.

By the time the 2027 draft rolls around we will have a much clearer picture on the following:

1. Where do Will Campbell and Caleb Lomu fit at tackle?
2. Is Mike Onwenu part of the long-term picture?
3. Is Jared Wilson the long-term answer at center?
4. Can AVT stay healthy?
5. Is Morgan Moses done?

Unless ALL of these play out favorably, you can argue that we should be investing a top-100 pick on the OL in 2027.

 

[mayoclinic]

By 2028, AVT and Jared Wilson will be in contract years. Unless both are extended, could see investing another top-100 pick.