With the Patriots sitting with the #4 overall pick, they’ll have their pick of quite a few players who can help fill some big holes on their roster when they find themselves on the clock in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
The only issue might be whether or not they can potentially trade down and acquire more draft capital without missing out on the opportunity to address some key needs.
One of their biggest needs is obviously tackle. The Patriots spent the majority of 2024 sending Vederian Lowe out there week in and week out at left tackle, which obviously was less than ideal. Lowe, and this is no knock against him because, by all accounts, he worked hard and did everything he could to improve. However, against any of the NFL’s more formidable pass-rushers he faced in a given week, Lowe was badly overmatched, and it proved to be an issue all season.
Right now, LSU’s Will Campbell is the player many feel will be a solid starter for someone at left tackle. The tricky situation is the fact he’s a player who isn’t rated as someone who should go at #4 overall, but a fair amount of mock drafts have him going within the top 10-12. At #4 the thought process by some analysts is that he would be a bit of a reach, which is why there are a fair amount of people who believe if New England isn’t able to move down, they may pivot and target the best player available.
Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter is a player who several mocks have going to New England, giving them a difference-maker on defense. One of the Patriots’ biggest weaknesses last season was the fact they weren’t able to consistently get pressure on the quarterback, which spilled over into a secondary that didn’t play anywhere near the level they did a year ago. Extra time to survey the field oftentimes led to receivers coming open, especially against more athletic quarterbacks.
In 2023, they did a better job making life miserable on opposing offenses, they just couldn’t score themselves. That’s also why if Mike Vrabel can help get Keion White’s play to the next level, having someone like him and Carter would give them two ferocious players that would certainly make life tough on opponents, especially if Christian Barmore recovers from the blood clot ailment he dealt with in 2024.
Still, the defense could get all the stops and turnovers in the world, but if they can’t protect Drake Maye, it won’t mean much.
Is Campbell Better than Wynn?
Meanwhile, looking closer at Campbell, he’s an interesting player. The biggest knock against him is his arm length, with some people discussing how much that matters given how well Joe Thuney – who also isn’t a long-armed player – stepped in and played for the Chiefs at left tackle last season.
Former Patriots offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn’s name has come up quite a bit as of late when it’s come to discussing Campbell. Wynn, who was selected in Round 1 by New England with the 23rd overall pick in 2018, also was short in that metric when it comes to arm length. Still, he wasn’t terrible, but the former Georgia standout suffered some early bad luck that absolutely hurt him. Wynn got off to a tough start in his rookie year, tearing his Achilles against the Eagles that preseason, which ended his rookie campaign before it really got started.
When he started working his way back the following season, he actually split time at left tackle with Thuney during the preseason in 2019 before Wynn ultimately ended up starting the year on the outside, and Thuney was there alongside him at left guard. However, a toe injury saw Wynn miss time and plagued him the rest of the season.
With left tackle being a position where footwork is so important, it’s hard not to wonder how much that Achilles injury ultimately hurt Wynn in terms of who he could have been as a player. You can make up for arm length with power and good footwork but it’s tough to really be successful if you lose the latter, especially given how athletic guys are on the edge in the NFL.
Looking back at his time in New England, Wynn was a guy who was decent in the first couple of years, at least when he was healthy. But a toe injury in his second season also set him back, further hampering his development. As a result, it took time before he finally got to a reasonably good place performance-wise.
Oddly enough, one of New England’s best offensive performances in recent memory actually came with Wynn at left tackle and Trent Brown at right tackle in 2021, which led to a 10-win season with Mac Jones at quarterback and a playoff berth.
But the following season, the club moved Brown to the left side and shifted Wynn to the right, which turned out to be a disaster. You could see trouble brewing going back to minicamp that offseason, and Wynn didn’t do a great job of hiding the fact he wasn’t happy about the switch.
“I’m just working to get better, coming out here every day doing what I can do wherever they put me,” said Wynn early in preseason in 2022. Wynn was also asked if he had a sense of why he was moved to the other side. “That ain’t got nothing to do with me,” he said. “I’m wherever they need me to be.”
That final sentence was repeated several times when asked by one reporter about the change. When pushed further, he smiled and said, “You want me to repeat it again?” before adding, “It’s my answer, so, you’re going to have to take it.”
However, he bit his tongue for most of the preseason until frustration set in by October.
Wynn talked about how difficult it was at the time, and it was clearly not something he was comfortable with. It led to a tough season offensively as Jones ultimately got hurt that year, and it started a domino effect where their offense suffered a regression so disastrous that it eventually cost Bill Belichick his job the following season.
He departed after the 2022 season and has since moved to guard for the Dolphins in Miami.
(PHOTO: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images.)
Taking an SEC Guy in Campbell Makes sense
When it comes to Campbell, he’s the type of player who has faced NFL-caliber competition at LSU and it’s another reason why he’s a player who is so attractive.
Coming off a loss against Florida last season where LSU made a lot of mistakes and fell 27-16, he already sounded like someone who knows what he’s up against at the pro level.
“You go into a hostile environment against a good team, and Florida is a good team, the SEC is the NFL of college football,” said Campbell. “These dudes will play on Sunday just like guys here will. You have to have that drive to go win and when you have mistakes on the road against a good football team you don’t deserve to win that football game.”
Scouting reports have him as a guy who, despite his arm length, possesses a fair amount of power, with his strength when it comes to blowing guys back at the point of impact being something that has helped make up for it.
He’s also not a small guy. He’s 6’6”, 320 pounds, making him both bigger and taller than Lowe and odds are he’d probably add some further weight once he gets to the NFL level. He also fits the metrics, having been graded as one of the best pass blockers in the nation by Pro Football Focus, as well as being an incredibly strong player. The school put out a video last July of Campbell squatting 616 pounds, which he made look relatively easy.
Greg Bedard made a good point recently. He pointed out that when you look at both Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs compared to the majority of players at his position who played in January, the difference was striking. If New England wants to get back to a championship level, improving their offensive line and getting more formidable guys on the outside is going to be pivotal.
Right now, they’re a team with a problem on the edges, and it plagued them throughout 2024. The idea of missing out and potentially sending either Lowe or Jacobs back out there again in 2025 should be the type of nightmare scenario that keeps fans up at night.
After all, no one would have ever expected things to be as bad as they were. Yet one season later, it’s a reminder that “getting by” in the NFL is a lot tougher when it comes to key positions.
It’s also why if the Patriots end up having to “reach” to get a guy who can solidify one side this April, they might just have to do it.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
Every year, fans want to get cute and trade down. We have a roster full of mediocrity now and a cornerstone QB we need to protect. All the naysayers swear we can still get a project LT in round 2 after snagging some “generational” talent after trading out of 4. Every team has holes, our biggest one is at Left Tackle huge and simple to address. Unless the fix it in Free Agency, they have to take Campbell.
Take Campbell. Maye had 2 concussions already if I’m not mistaken. No good QB equals no good team.
…yup… and NBC Boston and others wanted “designed runs” last year for Maye, where he was scrambling aplenty as-is. This after all the worry of him and Brisset staying alive period!! Maye is a point guard QB where he’s best dishing the ball to others to take the hit. Run when things break down only. Maye is not built like Josh Allen. Even Allen, will end up with a shortened carreer (AKA Cam Newton) if he keeps running like he is.
Good Article. I did hear an opin that said, Will Campbells status will hinge on his combine measures (again arm-length). If he tests well, he’ll be a candidate at #4, else he’ll slide back in the 1st round. So we’ll know in ~3 weeks. As is now, I don’t believe Will Campbell would be a large “reach” at #4. It’s just that there’s a few guys rated higher. And these ratings are not precise at all and don’t measure or guarantee how the player will do in the jump to the NFL. I believe that grading differential is not large… Read more »