When the New England Patriots used their 2025 first-round pick on Will Campbell, the hope was that they had found a franchise cornerstone to protect Drake Maye. Now, going into his second season, Campbell is already embattled at the position.
Campbell himself knows that there’s plenty of room for improvement. In fact, he had a relatively simple answer as to where he can get better.
“Everywhere,” Campbell said.
Campbell had played well, though far from perfectly, for most of his rookie season. That’s before he suffered an MCL sprain that landed him on IR. Campbell returned late in the year and for the postseason run, but struggled. That included allowing 14 pressures in the Super Bowl loss and declining to speak to the media afterward.
“Nobody’s a finished product,” Campbell said. “It’s not one specific thing that I’m going to nail. I’ve worked at everything every day. Like I said before, I’m 22. So, I’m a long way from where I’m going to be in the future. So it’s not like I’m great at everything, and there’s one little thing I’m building every day. I’m trying to make everything as a whole better, and by doing my job is doing what the coaches teach and what they’re asking us to do in the specific play at hand.”
Despite those struggles, Campbell remains the Patriots’ left tackle. They’ll need him to improve, otherwise he could be pushed by rookie Caleb Lomu.
New England Patriots Left Tackle Will Campbell Underwent Extensive Rehab
GettyNew England Patriots left tackle Will Campbell
Much of the criticism of Will Campbell stems from when the lights were the brightest in the playoffs. The problem with that, however, is that it’s also when he was playing the most injured.
Recently, Campbell revealed that this offseason his focus has been on getting healthy once again. That includes rehabbing his knee five times a week, an extensive effort to make sure he’s ready to go for the 2026 season.
“I did [physical therapy] five days a week the entire offseason until we got back (April 20),” Campbell said. “Just trying to rebuild the strength in my knee to get it back to where it was previously. And I feel like I did a good job with that.”
That amount of rehab goes back to show just how injured Campbell was during the Patriots’ run in the playoffs. It’s impossible to say how he’d play fully healthy, but hopefully, he’ll be able to avoid similar injuries again in the future.
There are Calls for the Patriots to Move Campbell Inside
GettyNew England Patriots left tackle Will Campbell
Coming into the NFL, there was a major concern about Will Campbell’s arm length, which some felt was too short to be an NFL tackle. Add to that his struggles in the playoffs, and plenty of people are calling for the Patriots to move Campbell inside to guard. Drafting Caleb Lomu, a natural left tackle, in the first-round only added to those calls.
Campbell recently drew a comparison from Doug Kyed of The Boston Herald to Tyler Smith of the Dallas Cowboys. Smith also moved inside after coming into the league at left tackle, and has thrived there. So, it’s not a death sentence by any means.
However, the Patriots are working Lomu at right tackle and Campbell at left tackle. The plan, simply, is to stick by Campbell and let him have some runway to develop.
Earlier in the offseason, EVP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf said, “But before that, I thought Will played really well out here. I know everyone talks about the arm length, but he has a set of skills that enable him to play with that arm length. He’s really quick out of his stance. He’s technically sound. He’s adding more and more different pass sets to his tool bag that he can use to combat different rushes. And again, he’s 22 years old, and we expect some improvement out of him as well.”
So, there’s plenty of room for Campbell to grow. He knows that. The Patriots are also going to give him the opportunity to do so.
Patriots LT Will Campbell Admits Where He Needs to Improve This Season