All eyes are on the Patriots' offense during training camp so far, as the second-year jump of Drake Maye, along with the much-improved roster around him, are all that analysts and fans can focus on after a rough 2024 season. Among those under the most pressure to perform at a high level right out of the gate is rookie Will Campbell, who was selected with the fourth overall pick in this year's draft.
Addressing the offensive line was a priority of the new regime led by Mike Vrabel, which explains why they used such a high pick on a left tackle, and Campbell was considered the best at the position of this year's class.
Left tackle has been a problematic part of the team's offense in recent years, so the expectations are high for Campbell to be the franchise player the Patriots have long needed. Because of that, he's under a microscope at training camp, leading many to have conflicting opinions about how he's doing so far, with some questioning if he was the right choice.
That has only worsened after a rough few reps this past week, which several reporters highlighted in recent days.
Chaisson just tallied 2 sacks and 1 pressure in a 4-play stretch against the starting offense. He's been the undisputed breakout star of camp.
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) July 30, 2025
Bad news: both sacks came at Will Campbell's expense. https://t.co/yDRnYRl4LZ
Campbell's struggles are not entirely unexpected, as he is a rookie and is lining up against several players who have been in the league for many years. However, it is bringing back pre-draft concerns about his fit as an NFL left tackle, since many analysts believed he was more of a guard than a tackle.
Will Campbell's struggles at training camp are already concerning Patriots fans and reporters
Training camp struggles are always exaggerated or made into a bigger deal than they really are every year, but especially when it involves a quarterback or a rookie. That might be the case surrounding Campbell, as expectations are incredibly high for him as the projected starting left tackle.
It would be unfair to suggest that he's proving the doubters right with their concerns heading into the draft based on what we've seen at practice alone, but it would also be problematic to completely ignore his ups and downs in case they do become a more serious issue moving forward.
This is to be expected but some ups and downs from the rookies in Patriots camp so far.
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) July 30, 2025
Will Campbell has looked great some drives and gotten beat others. Kyle Williams has had a few 40+ catches but also too many drops.
Not unbelievable but not terrible a week into things.
At this stage in the offseason, there's no real reason to be overly concerned with what we're seeing, as The Athletic's Chad Graff mentions, they're only a week into training camp, so Campbell is still getting the hang of things.
There's always going to be a learning curve for new players and those who are dealing with a new coaching staff, like the Patriots are this season. Plus, Campbell has had some impressive moments, alongside those that have raised more concerns. So it would be fair to say he's had a balance of highlights and lowlights thus far.
Until it becomes imbalanced and Campbell is stringing together more bad reps than good, we shouldn't already be writing him off as a bust.