The New England Patriots made the pick most expected Thursday night, taking LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell fourth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The WEEI All-Night Draft Party with Christian Arcand, Nick “Fitzy” Stevens, Meghan Ottolini and Chris Scheim reacted to the pick live, and the room wasn’t exactly filled with excitement.
“Not quite like last year, when you guys were jumping around belly-bopping each other,” Arcand noted, referencing the crew’s much more enthusiastic reaction to Drake Maye in 2024.
“Hello darkness, my old friend,” Scheim began singing.
“I have spent years,” Fitzy said, “just begging them to address left tackle, begging them to beef up the offensive line, begging them to do unsexy things, like just get stout and strong and start some trench warfare, like the fundamentals. And that's great. I just wish there was more certainty behind the pick, as opposed to somebody that comes with question marks from multiple evaluators that you trust implicitly in terms of evaluating someone's talent and ability to play one of the most difficult positions on the field.”
While Campbell has remained the top left tackle in most rankings throughout the draft process, his short arms (by NFL offensive tackle standards) have raised questions about whether he will be able to stick at tackle in the NFL, or if he will eventually need to move inside to guard. Guard is not usually regarded as a position worth drafting in the top 10.
“It's not Joe Alt,” Scheim said. “Like, if this was Joe Alt, I would be pants off dancing around the room, because that is a an absolute surefire stud at whatever tackle position you want to throw him at. He’s an All-Pro for years to come. He's like the next Joe Thomas. This is not that. There are so many question marks. He might be pretty good. But more than likely, he's just going to be really good at guard, and that's an absolute waste of a fourth overall pick in a draft where guys are basically all the same. Just pick the best guy. That's all you need to do, is pick the best guy. Nine times out of 10, it works out. It works out for the Eagles every time. They just take the best guy on the board, and he's awesome. Stop drafting for need. Eliot Wolf told us last year they weren't gonna draft for need, and yet here we are, taking a guy who has too short of arms to play left tackle.”
The reaction at the Patriots’ draft party at Gillette Stadium didn’t sound overly enthusiastic either:
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, the man Campbell will be protecting, took to X to share his excitement, though: