Will Campbell entered the NFL as the Patriots’ highest-drafted offensive lineman since John Hannah, also taken at No. 4, in 1973, 53 years ago. Now, after a disastrous Super Bowl outing and a critical offseason, Campbell has been named one of the league’s nine second-year players facing the most pressure entering 2026, by USA Today on Thursday.
The designation comes after Campbell battled through a severe knee injury during New England’s postseason run and months after the Patriots used another first-round pick on tackle Caleb Lomu, raising the stakes for the former No. 4 overall selection.
Campbell’s Super Bowl Disaster Raised Patriots Concerns
Campbell signed a four-year, $43.66 million contract and spent most of his debut year posting solid numbers, including a 76.1 pass-block grade from Pro Football Focus.
Week 12 changed everything. A road trip to Cincinnati ended with Campbell carted off with a grade 3 MCL sprain. He missed four games, returned for the regular-season finale, and played every postseason game through the Super Bowl despite clearly being well short of a full recovery.
Campbell surrendered 14 quarterback pressures against Seattle in the Super Bowl, tied for the most by any offensive lineman in a postseason game since 2018, according to NFL.com. He allowed 29 total pressures across the four-game postseason run. New England lost the Super Bowl 29-13.
Campbell declined to speak after the loss. Two days later at the locker room cleanout, he finally broke his silence.
“It comes with the job when you don’t perform,” he said, as quoted by NFL.com‘s Bobby Kownack. “Obviously, I was picked high, paid a lot, so people expect a certain thing, and I expect more myself.”
Patriots Add Caleb Lomu, Tightening Pressure on Campbell
Coach Mike Vrabel shut down any position-switch talk.
“We’re not moving Will to guard or to center or to tight end or to anywhere else,” Vrabel said, as quoted by NFL.com. Vrabel and GM Eliot Wolf attributed the Super Bowl regression to strength lost from the injury rather than concerns about his shorter-than-average arms that followed Campbell out of LSU.
New England nonetheless used the 28th overall pick in the 2026 draft on Utah tackle Caleb Lomu — the first time the franchise picked offensive linemen in consecutive first rounds since 1991-92. Lomu took OTA reps at right tackle behind 35-year-old Morgan Moses and will likely be used as depth for now, and a contingency plan if Campbell falters, according to Sports Illustrated‘s Ethan Hurwitz.
The interior was also restructured. Patriots 2025 third-rounder Jared Wilson moved from left guard to center, with veteran Alijah Vera-Tucker alongside Campbell, changes intended to better handle the defensive fronts that exposed New England in January, according to USA Today‘s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz.
Campbell spent the offseason doing physical therapy five days a week.
“Just trying to rebuild the strength in my knee to get it back to where it was previously,” he said, as quoted by Sports Illustrated. He took first-team reps through OTAs and minicamp without restriction.
Quarterback Drake Maye has been unequivocal in his support of Campbell, who became one of Maye’s closest friends on the team.
“He’s gonna be a great player in this league,” Maye said, as quoted by NFL.com. “He already is a great player in this league.”
Patriots Will Campbell Named 1 of 9 NFL 2nd-Year Players Under Most Pressure