On Tuesday, NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran joined “Jones and Keefe” for his weekly appearance on all things Patriots.
And with the 2025 NFL Draft just 48 hours away, the topic of who New England will select with the No. 4 overall pick was, of course, asked of Curran.
While his answer wasn’t entirely surprising, it also wasn’t that simple.
“What’s your final prediction for what they do at No. 4?” asked WEEI’s Adam Jones as they were wrapping up the interview. “Are they sticking and picking? Are they moving it? How do you see it playing out?”
“They’re gonna try like hell to move it,” said Curran. “And move down, and stay in the top 10. So that’s the caveat. If they can do that, and move down to a reasonable spot to get a tackle, I think they’ll still do that.
“If they have to stick and pick, I would think they’ll take Campbell. I’ve continued to say Tyler Warren, I hope I’m right just because I wanna be right. But I would imagine they’ll do what the sensible thing to do is.”
As the draft has grown closer and closer, it has been viewed more and more as a “two player draft,” with Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter and Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter seen as the consensus can’t-miss talents of the 2025 class.
Outside of Carter and Hunter, draft analysts across the board have talked about the dip in top-tier talent starting at No. 3 onwards. With that said, the Titans are seen as locked-in to selecting top quarterback prospect Cam Ward at No. 1 overall, meaning Carter and Hunter will be scooped up by the Browns at No. 2 and the Giants at No. 3 in some order.
Picking at No. 4 in a “two player draft” is far from ideal (thanks Joe Milton). But with so many glaring holes on the offensive side of the football after a defensive-heavy free agency period under new head coach Mike Vrabel, New England needs to nail whatever their plan is for this asset.
Trading down for additional picks when there isn’t a “can’t miss guy” sitting there at No. 4 is obviously an ideal scenario for a team with more than one need during this continued rebuild process. But what would be the incentive for teams to move up to No. 4 when the talent available is, well, meh?
The best New England can hope for would be Las Vegas (No. 6) and New Orleans (No. 9) both falling in love with the same remaining quarterback prospect available after Ward - which would likely be Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart - and the Saints wanting to ensure they get “their guy.” New Orleans trading places with New England would allow the Saints to leapfrog the Raiders, and would keep the Patriots in the top 10 while, in theory, picking up another asset.
But with the consensus around this year’s crop of QBs generally viewed as one of the weaker ones we’ve seen in recent years, it feels like a pipe dream for New England fans that this type of bidding war for Sanders or Dart would go down - at least not within the top 10.
Both Curran and WEEI’s Jermaine Wiggins agree that Penn State tight end Tyler Warren would be their ideal candidate for the fourth overall pick if New England has to stay in their spot. But as Curran said on Tuesday, don’t hold your breath for anyone other than LSU left tackle Will Campbell.
If you need further confirmation, here’s what NFL Network’s lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on Friday during a call with the media:
“It feels like [Travis] Hunter 2 and Abdul Carter 3. And then with the Patriots, I just have continually heard that offensive tackle was going to be addressed, and I’ve continually heard that, you know, that that’s Will Campbell’s spot.”
The Foxborough Faithful should begin mentally preparing for Campbell’s historically short arms to be holding up a Patriots jersey on stage with Roger Goodell on Thursday night.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the Patriots’ offseason.