Since Thursday, I have willingly watched almost every second of NFL Network’s coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN for daily diaries for WEEI.com.
I know, not all heroes wear capes. You can thank me later for taking on this arduous task in the name of looking for Patriots-nuggets.
(if you missed anything from day one, day two or day three, check ’em out)
But in all seriousness, these four days of drills and measurements will be hugely consequential for teams’ draft rankings across the board.
40-yard dash times will vault players into the first round. Three-cone drills will tank draft stocks for players at every position. A difference of one inch in arm length could be the difference in millions of dollars for dudes in their early 20s trying to break into the league.
As silly as this all is, it really does matter.
With all that’s at stake, and given how important this draft is for a Patriots franchise in full rebuild mode selecting No. 4 overall, I’ve made it a point to give this thing its proper due.
Here’s my diary from the day four broadcast in Indy:
1:00 p.m. - Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve finally made it to the beginning of the end of this thing.
I could lie to you and say that it’s bittersweet, but I won’t do that.
I’m very ready to be done watching these dudes run drills with no opponents and no pads. I probably hit that point about midway through Saturday’s broadcast, if I’m being honest.
With that being said - we’ve got some offensive linemen to talk about.
Off the top of the broadcast, Rich Eisen set the scene with these big men, in this order:
- Kelvin Banks Jr., T (Texas)
- Armand Membou, T (Missouri)
- Tyler Booker, G (Alabama)
- Will Campbell, T (LSU)
That top and bottom name have both been uttered countless times on the Boston airwaves since last summer, as Banks and Campbell have long been considered the top two offensive line candidates of the 2025 draft class.
With the Patriots fielding arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL last season, these names have become even more popular throughout New England as we now sit 52 days away from the NFL Draft in Green Bay, WI.
The Patriots need to improve this unit in 2025. Has to happen. No excuses. It’s the biggest area of need, and cannot go ignored.
If you’d like tangible evidence of the above statement to go along with the hours of embarrassing game footage you almost certainly slogged through in 2024, here’s the individual rankings for each of the five Patriots linemen who started for the majority of last season:
- OT Demontrey Jacobs, 81st out of 81
- OT Vederian Lowe, 69th out of 81
- G Layden Robinson, 74th out of 77
- G Mike Onwenu, 33rd out of 77
- C Ben Brown, 39th out of 40
It’s jarring when you see it listed out like that, isn’t it?
Head coach Mike Vrabel already took one huge step towards improving the O-line this offseason, as he hired former Bills and Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone as the team’s new offensive line coach. In addition to his head coaching experience at the pro level, Marrone has been coaching the big boys in some form or fashion since 1993.
With former offensive line coach Scott Peters being a one-and-done in New England, it’s time for this unit to have some stability at the top as they work towards protecting 22-year-old Drake Maye in his sophomore season.
But the addition of Marrone isn’t enough, and the draft will be a key piece in rebuilding their line of scrimmage for the future.
1:03 p.m. - So we know it’s an area of need, but how deep is this group of potential draftees?
“I think it’s a deep group of starters,” said NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah, who was back in the booth for the network’s fourth and final day of coverage in Indy. “Maybe not those elite players like we had last year with Joe Alt at the top of the board, but there are a lot of guys that are ready to plug in and play, and a lot of guys with versatility that have some experience playing different positions.”
Jeremiah proceeded to dive into his top interior linemen for the class of 2025.
“Booker’s plug-and-play as a guard,” said Jeremiah. “Membou has played right tackle, I think he’s gonna end up ultimately staying at tackle with how he checked in here, but can play inside. Grey Zabel [of North Dakota State] can play all five positions, Donovan Jackson was a guard who kicked out to tackle when they had an injury for Ohio State.
“So talent and versatility - that’s what screams at you from this list of players.”
Eisen pointed out that Jeremiah has four interior linemen ranked in his top 32 for his most recent draft rankings, but it’s a tackle from the O-line ranks that we might see being selected in the top five this spring.
“Yeah, it’s gonna be an interesting conversation,” said Jeremiah. “We’ll have the arm length conversation with LSU’s Will Campbell a little bit later on in the show. It’s a good debate, a good discussion to have.
“Kelvin Banks is someone who can play that left tackle spot. Josh Simmons [of Ohio State] - the tape is outstanding, just coming off an injury. And then you’ve got [Josh] Conerly [of Oregon] and [Charles] Grant [of William & Mary] as guys who I believe will hear their names called in the first 50 picks.”
1:08 p.m. - As she was for the first three days of combine coverage, Stacey Dales was back on the sidelines for the final day in Indy, which she proclaimed her “favorite day” of the event every year.
In her first report of the day, she dove into the biggest negative as it relates to Campbell playing tackle at the next level.
“The big question about him, obviously, has been his arm length at the tackle spot,” said Campbell. “32-and-five-eighths, officially, and he talked on it this week. He said, ‘Listen, this has been the case my whole life. Something I’m used to, but from high school to college to the pros, all you gotta do is put the tape on. You will see how good I am.’ He also said, ‘Blocking is done with your feet,’ and he has great feet.”
From there, she dove into the class’ top prospect at guard.
“And then there is, out of Alabama, the nasty - the mean and nasty, I like to say - guard, that would be Tyler Booker,” said Dales. “‘Nasty’ because he told us this week that he sees the game of football like ‘legal assault.’ He said that his mission on every down is to make other guys not love football.
“These are my favorite players at the combine, Rich, for good reason. They’re fun, and we’re gonna have a fun day here today.”
I wouldn’t exactly call Booker’s sentiments on legal assault “fun,’ but it’s definitely the mental makeup I want for a player on the interior.
But back to the main topic at hand - Campbell’s arm length.
“We’ll have plenty of time to dig into it as we go along,” said Jeremiah. “Because I can give you some players who have similar arm length. It’s a shorter list that have held up at tackle and have been productive players in the NFL. There’s a longer list of guys that have been kicking inside. I think the league’s gonna be split on this, in terms of where he ends up playing.
“The comparison, for me, that I love the most is going in the way back machine - you’ll appreciate, Rich - Michael Roos. I remember scouting him out of Eastern Washington in 2005. The comparison in terms of the length, Campbell’s a little bit longer. One pound difference, and Michael Roos started nine years at left tackle in the NFL, one at right tackle.”
Eisen then kicked it to the studio desk on the concourse, where Charles Davis was back for a fourth day as well.
After Davis used the Eagles as the model of how to draft and develop offensive linemen in today’s NFL, he brought it back to Campbell, saying, “So when you start thinking about these guys - OK, Will Campbell, we’ll argue over how much is it [with the] arms. All we care about is whether or not they can play.”
If it wasn’t clear already, Campbell’s reach was the No. 1 storyline for this unit on Sunday, as this measurable could knock the once-presumed top OL prospect out of his top spot by the time draft day comes along.
1:11 p.m. - As the 40-yard dashes for the offensive linemen got underway, NFL Media’s Chris Rose shared from the studio desk that this year’s group has the tallest average height in combine history.
While he didn’t share what that height was, it’s still helpful context to consider for the group at large for this spring.
And to kick things off for Sunday, one of those tall dudes in Banks lined up to run his first attempt at the 40.
At just over 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 315 pounds, Banks barreled down the sideline for a 5.17, with a 10-yard split of 1.84 - the number-within-the-number that matters most for offensive linemen on this drill.
Jeremiah did a great job putting that 1.84 in context, sharing that the average “10-time” for the top 10-ranked tackles by Pro Football Focus in 2024 was 1.72, with the top-10 ranked interior linemen averaging a 1.76.
So by those measures, the consensus No. 2 O-lineman in the draft’s first 40 of the day was pretty slow.
Lucky for him, he got a chance at redemption a few minutes later.
1:13 p.m. - Shortly after the No. 2 tackle on the board’s slow first attempt, the No. 1 followed suit with his first 40 of the day.
At a little more than 6-foot-4 and a half and weighing in at 321 pounds, Booker ran a 5.39 with a 10-yard split of 1.97.
Jeremiah immediately pointed out the slow time for the Crimson Tide standout, but made sure to follow that up with how good a player he was at the college level.
“He’s a really good player,” said Jeremiah. “Not gonna love the 40-time there, but this is someone who plays smart, physical, tough. He’s a finisher.”
This praise was accompanied by a graphic comparing him to arguably the best guard over the last decade in Quenton Nelson of the Colts.
“That’s someone who plays a physical brand of football on the right [in Nelson], and someone who tries to match that physicality on the left [in Booker],” said Jeremiah. “When you talk to the folks at Alabama, and they say he was a Will Anderson-level leader for their offense since he was there. And the job he did taking the young offensive linemen under his wing, it’s gonna be very popular when he meets with teams and coaches.”
We know from a report from The Athletic on Thursday that Vrabel and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf want to rebuild their team through the trenches this offseason.
If by that they mean picking a guard at No. 4, it seems like Booker would be the guy.
That would also make Booker the highest-drafted guard since Ken Huff and John Hicks were drafted No. 3 overall in consecutive years in 1974 and 1975, and would tie him with Patriots immortal John Hannah (1973) as the second-highest drafted guard since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
I haven’t seen that type of buzz, and a 1.97 10-time isn’t going to help elevate Booker into this rarefied air.
1:14 p.m. - As the man at the top of the heap out of LSU stepped to the starting line for his first attempt at the 40, Eisen shared an interesting nugget from Campbell’s sophomore season two years ago.
“He almost hit 18 miles an hour for a top offensive line max-velocity in 2023,” said Eisen. “So we should see a fast time here.”
And while his 5-flat 40 with a 1.76 10-yard split was fast for a man of his size (an eighth of an inch shy of 6-foot-6 and 319 pounds), Jeremiah pointed out that Campbell can almost certainly run faster.
“Oh, he stumbled,” said Jeremiah mid-run for Campbell. “He stumbled right at that 10-yard marker.”
“Right there - even before the 10,” Jeremiah pointed out again on the replay of the run.
After quickly comparing him again to Roos with a graphic showing their similar measurables, Jeremiah shared some insight on the player from people down in Baton Rouge.
“Talking to folks at LSU that have been there for a long time around that program said they’ve had four players over the past 20-or-so years that came in and started as freshmen and never lost their job, never missed games all the way through,” said Jeremiah. “There’s been four of them, he’s one of the four. So the availability factor, there’s something to be said for that as well.”
1:15 p.m. - Shortly after Campbell, Josh Conerly Jr. stepped to the starting line for his first attempt at the 40.
The Oregon-product has been linked to the Patriots at various points during mock draft season, typically said to be a player the team could draft if they were to trade-down within the first round.
With that said, he’s routinely placed in that No. 3 spot at tackle for this year’s group of draftees.
At just over 6-foot-4 and a half and 311 pounds, Conerly ran for a 5.07 with a 10-yard split of 1.72. And later in the day, he improved each of those times by .02.
That’s excellent stuff for a player that’s been overshadowed by Campbell and Banks throughout draft season so far.
Maybe these impressive 10-times will help shine a brighter light on the 21-year-old in the coming weeks.
1:16 p.m. - NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport was back for the day four broadcast of the combine, and popped in to discuss what the Giants might do this offseason at quarterback.
“The New York Giants are looking into Aaron Rodgers, as they are for all of the veteran quarterbacks available,” said Rapoport. “And I wouldn’t be surprised, by the way, if the Giants either trade up to [No.] 1, or draft a quarterback at [No.] 3.
“The union between Rodgers and the Giants does make some sense - let me explain why. Either way, if they draft a quarterback at [No.] 1 or 3 or wherever they end up drafting, they probably need some sort of a bridge starter. Aaron Rodgers, you know, is gonna have a little chip on his shoulder, wants to prove everyone right, wants to show that he’s still got it, still does want to play. He could do it in the same city as he was with the Jets. Obviously, that would be something that he would like. Plus, you know any time you draft a quarterback then have a bridge starter playing, you say, ‘Oh, when’s the rookie gonna play? When’s the rookie gonna play?’ When you have a first ballot Hall of Famer like Aaron Rodgers starting, that avoids a lot of that conversation. The Giants are looking into it, but certainly something to keep an eye on.”
As we’ve discussed in all three days of this diary - what happens with that No. 1 pick could have a major impact on who the Patriots end up picking at No. 4 overall.
While reports say Vrabel wants to rebuild through the trenches, he also gave himself license to pivot when team building this offseason when speaking with the media on Tuesday in Indy. If QBs go 1-2 on draft day and either Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter become available for selection at No. 4, you’re taking either Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter at No. 4. No questions asked.
Add Rodgers into the mix, and things have officially gotten spicy, folks!
Don’t you just love draft season?
1:18 p.m. - A man/mountain by the name of Aireontae Ersery ran a 5.01 with a 10-yard split of 1.75.
This man/mountain is 6-foot-6 and 331 pounds.
Easily the most impressive 40 of the day, for my money. This man is huge with a capital “H,” and his first step looked menacing.
Most mock drafts are seeing him ranked in the low-teens at his position with a possible draft position in the mid-second round. I have to imagine a 40-yard dash like this one gives him some juice to move up the board in the next few weeks.
1:22 p.m. - When we get some local flavor, it has to be highlighted.
And Boston College’s Drew Kendall not only brought the flavor, but he brought some impressive speed.
On his first attempt, he ran a 5.05 with a 10-yard split of 1.79.
At 6-foot-3 and 308 pounds, this is an awesome time for a guy who will likely not hear his name called until day three of the draft.
With Kendall having a great career at center for BC and with Patriots center David Andrews nearing the end of his career, this might be someone Pats fans should start brushing up on ahead of the draft.
And with Marrone having spent the 2024 season on the BC staff as a “senior analyst of football strategy,” you have to think the new OL coach wouldn’t mind having some continuity with his lingo in what should be a new-look O-line room.
1:23 p.m. - A redemption arc for the Texas-product, as Banks improved his 40-time by .01 on his second attempt.
More importantly, he took his 10-yard split from a 1.84 to a 1.79 - a massive improvement for the massive man.
“It’s a smooth run,” said Jeremiah after Banks’ second attempt. “It’s not just the times. You’re watching how these guys move. That was a real easy, smooth run.”
1:24 p.m. - With Campbell avoiding a stumble on his second 40-yard dash attempt, he became the only offensive linemen to run a sub-5.00 on the day.
On run No. 2, the No. 1 OL ran a 4.98, with a 10-yard split of 1.76.
“He can absolutely squat the house, too.” said Jeremiah as the crowd of 5,000+ in Indy cheered for the fastest time of Sunday to that point. “He’s a big weight room guy.”
His arms might be short, but it’s clear that this kid can move in a special way for being the size he is.
1:34 p.m. - Before the first on-field drills of the day got underway, the broadcast ran a highlight package for Campbell.
“Again, someone who stepped right in and played at LSU, he’s only 20 years old,” said Jeremiah. “He’s very smooth in pass-pro. He’s got firm hands. He doesn’t have a real super wide base, but he’s very, very strong. He can sink, and is able to play heavy-handed as well. You’ll see when he gets hands on guys, he can finish.
“In the run game - roll his hips, drive, create some movement. He does fall off late in the run, something he can continue to work on and improve with, but look at the Next Gen Stats here - reaching over 20 miles per hour [at the combine], that’s impressive. It shows you the overall athleticism he has.”
And although his shorter arms will be seen as a detriment to teams, media and fans as we get closer to April 24, Jeremiah found a way to spin it positive for the former Bayou Bengal.
“I think because of the shorter arms, he gets in some bad positions where defenders can get to his chest, but he’s able to recover because of that athleticism. And that’s what gives me hope that he could potentially stay out there at left tackle.”
Dales checked back in for the first time in a while, with an interesting tidbit on Campbell’s upbringing.
“Campbell, just a reminder, grew up on a farm in Louisiana,” said Dales. “And I asked him this week, ‘What did you like about farm life?’ Well he said, ‘I just did chores, all the stuff you wouldn’t understand.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean? Give me an example.’ He goes, ‘Do you know what poly-pipe is?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Well when you drive through the country, and you drive by a cornfield or a beanfield and you see all that white piping running down the side,’ he said, ‘I did that for miles, and miles, and miles, and miles.’ That’s a big part of his work-ethic there.”
Country-strong Campbell? Cornfield Campbell? Let’s get a workshop going on this.
1:36 p.m. - Probably nothing to see here, but we had multiple slips by Campbell during his first attempt at the “wave drill.”
With how much he has been praised and celebrated on the broadcast, it’s only fair that I point out his mistakes from the day as well.
This is supposed to be a drill that shows off athleticism, which we know he is. Davis from the field-level threw out the idea that it could have had something to do with the shoes he was wearing, but that was dispelled pretty quickly by both Eisen and Jeremiah (and me at home) who pointed out that they looked like LSU game cleats.
“How many hearts were in throats right there?” said Eisen, as the way Campbell slipped looked for a split-second like a bad non-contact injury. “Like, literally everyone in the building, or what?”
“His agent, his mom and his dad, for sure,” said Jeremiah. “Geez, glad that was not worse.”
Anyways, just something to monitor/over-analyze for a player who has been linked to New England longer than any other prospect in this draft.
1:40 p.m. - Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson made his first appearance of the day during the “wave,” and he put on a show during his first attempt.
“He’s almost 6’4, 315 pounds,” said Jeremiah. “Moved pretty well.”
Jackson’s running of this drill was one of the few that really stood out to me. Noticeably quicker than his peers, and with a real burst as he sprinted out the end of the rep.
The only other player that stood out to me during this group’s running of the wave was Eli Cox out of Kentucky - another player Pats fans should monitor as a future replacement for Andrews at center.
2:21 p.m. - As the first group of O-linemen ran through the “screen drill” to wrap up their portion of the day on the field, Michigan’s Myles Hinton stuck out to me for like the 12th time since the post-40 drills started.
This dude is huge, and he’s fast. I wish he had run a 40 on Sunday, because his 10-yard split would have almost certainly been super impressive.
At 6-foot-7 and 323 pounds, this mountain of a man played left tackle for the Wolverines. Even at that size, the broadcast went back and forth on the idea of Hinton possibly moving to guard at the pro level. With the Eagles fielding guards that both stood taller than 6-foot-5 on their way to a historic season blocking for running back Saquon Barkely, the copy-cat league that is the NFL will almost certainly have guys with traditional tackle size moving inside over the next few years.
With what I saw from Hinton’s footwork and quickness on Sunday, I feel bad for the nose tackles who would have to deal with that force coming at them this fall.
He’s currently being projected as a day three prospect, and possibly could end up as an undrafted free agent.
2:30 p.m. - We will conclude our diary for day four with an interview on the field between Campbell and Dales.
When asked if he felt like he was flying with his 4.98 40-yard dash, Campbell said, “Yeah, I mean, I wanted better. But you know, as long as I got a sub-5, that’s really what I wanted to go out there and show. Because a lot of people, you know, projected me to run like a 5.20. So I had to go out there and, you know, prove them wrong.”
As Dales and Campbell watched some of the highlights from his drills together, she made a reference to him falling a couple times during the “wave.”
“Yeah, I busted my ass on one of them,” Campbell said with a laugh. “Yeah, I mean, we were fortunate enough to go over some of these drills this morning, you know? So I kind of had a feel for some of them. One of them I kind of just lost my footing. I liked that I was able to pop right back up and get another rep of it.”
“How stinkin’ tired are you of answering questions about your arm length?” asked Dales.
“I mean, it’s just part of it,” said Campbell. “Obviously, you know, it’s no secret I don’t have the stereotypical, you know, offensive lineman arms. But I’ve never had them, and it was [a] concern when I was coming into college. I handled it fine, and obviously there’s concerns now and I’m gonna handle it fine whenever a team gives me the opportunity.”
“Well like you said, you block with your feet anyway,” said Dales. “What are you bringing at the next level on island?”
“Yeah, I mean, I’m bringing a difference maker,” said Campbell. “You know, not only on the field, but off the field. The way that I can get guys to, you know, follow and believe in the vision that I believe in, and pull guys with me. And whenever I’m out on that field, you know I’m gonna demand excellence from everybody around me. The sign of a great leader is making the guys around him better, and pulling guys with him. And that’s what I try to do.”
You can’t ask for a better handling for that line of questions from the Louisiana native. He knows the arm length thing is going to continue to be a huge story as we move towards draft day, and he’s already got his elevator pitch ready for why it doesn’t matter. He’s been dealing with these questions for years, and you could tell by the way he conducted himself with Dales on Sunday.
Also - how ’bout that accent?
Give it a listen if you weren’t able to catch it:
Before we go, I wanted to make sure I posted a couple videos of impressive 40s from the second group of offensive linemen on Sunday, as well as one more 40 from a BC Eagle in Indy.
- Hours after getting a couple mentions off the top of the broadcast, Missouri’s Armand Membou banged out a 4.91 in the 40, with an accompanying impressive battle cry and 10-yard split.
Watch this clip with the volume up:
- A couple runs later, Georgia’s Jared Wilson ran the fastest 40 of the day, with a 4.84 in his second attempt and a 10-yard split of 1.72.
Yet another large, freak athlete coming out of Athens, GA. What else is new?
- A shoutout to Ozzy Trapilo for participating with the second group of offensive linemen, as he was the second former Boston College Eagle to pop up on the TV screen on Sunday.
At just over 6-foot-8 and 316 pounds, this kid is going to get drafted. Most mock drafts had him going in the third round before Sunday, but I'm wondering if his impressive 1.77 10-yard split on his second 40 attempt will turn any heads. To move that fast at that size is pretty insane.
That’s gonna do it for your 2025 NFL Scouting Combine Diary series! I hope you enjoyed it, and we’ll see you back in virtual Indianapolis next year.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the Patriots’ offseason.