It’s no secret Mike Vrabel is a major force in the Patriots war room for this 2025 NFL Draft, and he’s selling the notion that the planets aligned for New England to pick both for need and talent in the No. 4 overall spot, with the selection of offensive lineman Will Campbell.
For the sake of quarterback Drake Maye and a fan base who’s had to endure back-to-back four-win seasons, let’s hope he’s reading his star charts right. Because the Patriots have been left tackle-needy since Trent Brown walked his colossal body out the door, and as every draft-watcher knows by this point, Campbell’s measurables indicate he may have to play elsewhere on the line.
At least last night, Vrabel said he knows what position Campbell plays.
“He's a left tackle. That's what he's played, that's what he's done. He'll come in here and he'll compete to be the left tackle just like everybody else is going to compete for their spots,” he said after the pick.
Okay. Barring more offensive tackle picks later in the draft, Campbell’s major competition will be Vederian Lowe, who’s simply never been a starter in terms of talent level.
The No. 4 pick’s importance to the football team doesn’t need spelling out – it’s right there in its subjective position to other teams. Last season’s Patriots team was awful, it has needs, and it needs talent. Just firing 90% of the coaching staff won’t magically turn them into a winning program.
For Vrabel, this pick is the first definitive test of his brain power, leadership, and decision-making with the Patriots. I wouldn’t go so far as to say Campbell is a polarizing pick, but there’s healthy skepticism about whether New England just spent a top-five pick on a guard, which is not considered a premium position in the NFL.
What about what he did in free agency? Vrabel and front office guys, including Eliot Wolf, did fine in that department, but that’s not where New England has dug a sinkhole that sucked down the entire program over the last decade. It’s the draft. Two years after Belichick drafted N’Keal Harry and Chase Winovich, he was still able to dole out the cash to bring in free agents, including Matthew Judon and Hunter Henry. Free agency can fill out a roster, but as learned by the 2021 offseason, it can’t build a foundation.
Maye’s style on the field last season was the one electric piece in otherwise depressing Sunday afternoons. The offense needs a left tackle to properly function, and the young gunslinger needs protection. If Campbell eventually kicks inside on the line, he’s got to be a functional left tackle for at least this season. That expectation sounds realistic when listening to Vrabel praise his intelligence and experience.
“He's pass-protected. He's run-blocked. He's coming out of a pro system. The terminology, he's already been through it, I don't know how many times with our guys and with me, and I think it's going to be a quick learning curve as far as the scheme,” he said.
For his part, the kid seems great. He cried happy tears about getting picked where he did, and we got a fun story about how Vrabel wore a blocking pad and asked him to knock him off his butt on a visit, and Campbell did. He has vim, vigor, and vinegar. Nice.
If Campbell’s arm length truly keeps him from playing tackle, perhaps there’s still another path to success for him. Next-best case scenario is that Campbell turns into a Devin McCourty type of player and leader on the offense: a slightly underwhelming first-round pick on Draft Night who drops out of a premium position on the field, but maintains his strength as a Pro Bowl-caliber starter and culture leader in the locker room. McCourty was a 27th pick, not a top-five pick, but that would still be a pretty good outcome for Vrabel.
Vrabel will be graded by this decision, and whether unjustly or not, the red pens will be out as early as September.