The best reason for drafting Will Campbell this year was obvious: the Patriots desperately need a left tackle. And maybe Campbell ends up being a guard – I extremely do not want to get into that debate until I absolutely have to – but for now, he's a left tackle that's really good and solves problems and seems like a fun hang. It's wonderful.
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The second best reason for drafting Will Campbell? Now no one's talking about Cole Strange. Or, at least, people are talking way less about him. And at this point, I'll take that. It's been a rough career in New England for Strange so far, so much so that he's found himself on basically every 'He Might Be A Huge Bust' list of the offseason.
Take, for instance, the latest from Pro Football Focus, detailing every team's make-or-break player in 2025. Their blurb on Strange is exactly as bleak as you're expecting it to be.
It sure feels like people are running out of patience with Cole Strange
"Much of the focus on the Patriots’ offensive line this season will be on left tackle Will Campbell and center Jared Wilson. However, they need another young player, left guard Cole Strange, to step up after a troublesome 2024. Strange played in just two games last season, both at center, and earned a meager 48.6 PFF overall grade.
He earned a more respectable 64.6 PFF overall grade in 2023 before suffering a season-ending injury. Strange is just as important to the Patriots’ success as the other young members of their offensive line."
Relying that heavily on someone who has basically never been even a replacement-level player in the NFL sure is one strategy! (Though maybe it's a good thing that someone still is, technically, blocking Campbell's move to guard.)
And if there's one way to make sure your young, franchise QB succeeds, it's to have the entire left side of the line playing out of position. It'll probably work out though – left tackles are notoriously interchangeable.
And besides, Maye's fast enough to mitigate that. I'm sure it'll be fine. [nervously smokes 15 cigarettes in a row]