The New England Patriots had several glaring needs in the 2025 offseason, and none was more dire than adding a left tackle. In came LSU's Will Campbell with Mike Vrabel's first-ever Patriots first-round draft pick. Campbell's been everything hoped for and more, and now he's again made Pro Football Focus's top rookie list after Week 7 of his rookie season.
The 2024 Patriots' personnel operation tried a patchwork approach to filling the all-important left tackle position and failed miserably. They added a veteran right tackle (who left after two games) and a rookie third-round pick. Both flopped. It was the wrong approach.
Conversely, Vrabel is an experienced NFL personnel evaluator and Head Coach. He knew that without a true left tackle, your quarterback's effectiveness, no matter how mobile he may be, would be at risk. That's why he invested the fourth-overall pick in Campbell, and he and the Patriots' offense are reaping the rewards now.
Will Campbell has anchored a resurgent Patriots' offensive line
Will Campbell's ability to play left tackle in the NFL was widely questioned by a host of NFL observers, including, to an extent, by Pro Football Focus (PFF), due to his perceived lack of arm length and shoulder width. He's now proving any doubters wrong week in and week out.
Patriots' rookie right tackle continues to grade high in the rookie mix, most recently coming in ninth in PFF's list of "Top NFL Rookies through Week 7". He's the top-rated tackle, and the only other offensive lineman on the list is the Jets' seventh overall pick, right tackle Armand Membou, who came in at No. 12.
9. T Will Campbell, New England Patriots (74.7) Campbell earned a 60.8 PFF overall grade against the Titans in Week 7, his first game with a sub-70.0 figure since Week 3. The top-five pick allowed two pressures across 36 snaps, a sack and a hit, both on third-down plays. It was his first hit allowed since Week 3, and his first sack surrendered since Week 1. Campbell still finished with a 70.1 PFF pass-blocking grade for the day. He struggled to make an impact as a run blocker (60.6 PFF run-blocking grade), logging only a 4.3% impact-block rate across 23 snaps.
Despite his challenges, Campbell continues to rank in the top two among rookie tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade (73.4) and PFF run-blocking grade (68.1). He also places in the top 20 at the position in defeated rate (11.0%).
While he allowed a sack and a hit against the Titans, it was his first sack allowed since Week 1. He continues to exceed expectations as a pass-blocker, the area of his game that was most questioned before the draft.
Will Campbell has helped Drake Maye be all that he can be
No quarterback, no matter how good or how mobile, can realize his full potential with a sieve-like offensive line, though they may still excel despite not having one. That was the case with Patriots' rookie quarterback, Drake Maye, in 2024. Maye played at a Pro-Bowl level despite having arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL in front of him.
That fact wasn't appreciated enough back then. Now, with a respectable O-line assembled by Vrabel with four new faces, the whole Patriots offense has improved, and Maye is soaring toward All-Pro and even MVP status. Will Campbell has been a major factor in that transformation, and both are only going to improve exponentially.
Maye has two rookie offensive linemen on his left side in Campbell and guard Jared Wilson. Campbell protects Maye on an island, and that's critical to any quarterback's success. The left tackle has been superb as PFF's ratings attest. And the best aspect of all this for Patriot Nation is that this is only the beginning.
The 23-year-old Maye and the 21-year-old Campbell, the two cornerstones of the emerging AFC title-contending Patriots' offense, are just scratching the surface of their potential. If you are an AFC East, AFC, or any other NFL contending team, you should be afraid, be very afraid. The Patriots are poised to take the top off the NFL, and with Campbell and Maye, the future is now.