Media commentary on Patriots first-round draft pick, and fourth-pick overall, Will Campbell and his physical characteristics, or more correctly, the lack thereof, continues pretty much unabated. It started with his combine measurement demonstrating that his arm length was a whopping 3/8s" shorter than the "requisite" length for NFL tackles. Wow. At least it's a good storyline.
To put that in perspective, that's about half the width of a US penny, a monumental amount of length indeed. And it's this supposed lack of "length" that pre-draft analysts warned could make him a very risky pick at pick number four if you're looking for him to play left tackle.
These silly suggestions have been taken to task before, but they persist and will until Campbell puts on the pads for real and goes arm-to-arm, and shoulder-to-shoulder with NFL defensive ends and edges. Now, a new impugning computation has arisen to sustain these arguments. Campbell's lack of shoulder width has been added to the issue of arm length.
Analyst brings lack of shoulder width into the Will Campbell discussion
To their credit, Mike Vrabel and the Patriots brushed aside all the stat-geek admonitions about Campbell and dropped the fourth-overall pick on him, right where it should have been. After Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter were off the board (though a nod to Aston Jeanty is in order from this vantage point), he wasted little time in selecting Campbell, Pro Football Focus (PFF) top offensive tackle and offensive lineman in the draft.
Recently, however, in a YouTube podcast, "The Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast",, esteemed Boston Patriots writer and analyst Greg Bedard, commented about Campbell's lack of shoulder width on top of the lack of arm length. (That's a lot of "lacks" there.).
All this is supposedly trouble for Campbell in his attempt to play tackle in the NFL.
Among Bedard's admonitions are that having short arms and now narrow shoulders makes him even more of an outlier in the tackle measurement area. He puts the likelihood of his being an NFL starting tackle for 10 years at 40 percent. That's part of his take.
Debunking the "short arms and narrow shoulders" arguments about Campbell
So the beat goes on about Campbell and his alleged physical deficiencies as he seeks to be an NFL left tackle. What's diminished in importance is that Campbell started at left tackle (with those short arms and narrow shoulders) for three years at LSU. That's in the SEC, the best conference by far in college football, and the best proving ground there is for any NFL player. Whatever.
The experts at Pro Football Focus (PFF) don't seem too concerned, as they rated him as their top tackle, and their sixth-highest player overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
"Campbell is an offensive lineman's offensive lineman. He approaches the position with excellent respect for what it takes to be great in the trenches: fundamentals, IQ and competitive toughness. His length and flexibility limitations might push him inside in the NFL, but this is a starting-caliber player at all five spots on the line."
While they make allowances for his so-called deficiencies, PFF also points out that he could start at both tackle spots as well as anywhere else on the offensive line. Sounds like a prescription for a great draft pick.
In their rating of the Patriots' Campbell draft pick, PFF again defers to his measurables. While they only grade the pick "Very Good", they then conclude by rendering him the ultimate statistical compliment (after three years' evaluation of his SEC performances). They praise his ability to perform in pass-protection, a left tackle's most vital function.
"... Campbell might not have ideal length for the position, but he produced at a high level for three years in the SEC, ranking in the 95th percentile of FBS tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets since 2022."
To sum up, Jerry Rice was too slow to play NFL wide receiver with a 4.71 or 4.6 forty time. Tom Brady was physically unable to play quarterback in the NFL, and players like Darrell Green were probably too short to play cornerback in the NFL. Now, Will Campbell is too short-armed and narrow-shouldered to play tackle. So much for measurables. One thing they can't measure is heart. Campbell has the heart of a lion.
The bet here is that Campbell, well-built to play left tackle in the NFL at about 6'6" tall (length isn't just about arms and shoulders), who has his head on straight, and is already garnering high praise from a veteran teammate, Will Campbell continues to receive the kind of praise a Patriots left tackle would want to hear. Take that, naysayers. We'll all begin to find out pretty soon anyway, won't we? Can't wait.