Patriots
“We’d love for them to align, having a need and having the best player be there.”
The Patriots have an interesting conundrum on their hands when it comes to the 2025 NFL Draft.
While New England is slated to land on the clock with the No. 4 pick in the upcoming draft, Mike Vrabel, Eliot Wolf, and the rest of the Patriots’ top brass may not have a clear-cut favorite prospect in place at that juncture in the draft order.
If the Patriots don’t have the ability to take the “best player available” in either Penn State edge Abdul Carter or Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter, the team’s focus could turn to addressing the team’s most pressing need: a left tackle.
While solidifying the offensive line isn’t necessarily the flashiest move for any team, the Patriots desperately need to add a foundational stalwart at left tackle — especially after New England’s O-line surrendered 52 sacks in 2024, the most allowed by the franchise since 1999.
As far as first-round talents are concerned, the Patriots should have several intriguing prospects to target on April 24 once the draft gets underway. LSU left tackle Will Campbell is projected to be the first tackle off the board, while other potential targets include Missouri’s Armand Membou, Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr., Ohio State’s Josh Simmons, and Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr.
Even if there are several targets available for New England when it comes to protecting Drake Maye and shoring up the line of scrimmage, it remains to be seen if any of those tackles warrant the designation of being a top-five pick.
But speaking to reporters in Foxborough on Tuesday, Vrabel stressed that there is plenty of value to found in this current crop of tackle prospects.
“I think there’s some starting tackles that certainly will come in and start in the NFL,” Vrabel said when asked if any tackle in this draft class is worthy of the No. 4 pick. “I think that’s really what you start to look for is impact players when you start picking that high — what they’re going to do for you, what’s the impact, what’s the position?
“You talk about premium position, so then that’s where you kind of weigh all the circumstances and end up making that pick. So, do I think that there’s starters in this draft at left tackle? Yes, I do.”
On paper, swinging for the fences with a tackle prospect like Campbell makes plenty of sense for the Patriots. The team, as noted by Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar, ranked 31st in the NFL in pass-blocking win rate and 32nd in run-blocking win rate in 2024.
Campbell’s resume is impressive, with the 21-year-old tackle earning All-American honors in 2024 as the top player on LSU’s O-line.
A three-year starter at left tackle with the Tigers, Campbell allowed just four sacks and 49 pressures over his LSU career, per Pro Football Focus. In 2024, Campbell gave up just two sacks and 18 pressures.
But there are concerns over whether or not Campbell is better suited to be a guard at the NFL level — a positional switch that would hamper his value, especially in terms of a spot within the draft order.
During the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Campbell’s arm length measured 32 5/8 inches and his wingspan was recorded at 77 3/8 inches.
Those measurements raised a few red flags this offseason, given that they are considered smaller than average for an NFL offensive tackle, potentially prompting a team to slot Campbell into an interior spot.
But speaking at the NFL annual meeting in Florida late last month, Vrabel dismissed concerns that Campbell isn’t suited to be a tackle at football’s highest level of competition.
“I think you have to,” Vrabel said of whether he views Campbell as a tackle. “I don’t understand how you can watch him play in the SEC, which is the best conference in college football, against guys that are going to get drafted at that position. I don’t think you have to project it. You can just actually watch and say, ‘There’s his snaps at left tackle’, evaluate it, and see what you think.”
Even though New England’s best shot at landing a franchise star likely involves one of Carter or Hunter falling to the Patriots at No. 4, Vrabel stressed that a tackle could stand as the most logical fit for the team if other blue-chip talents are off the board.
“We’d love for them to align, having a need and having the best player be there. That doesn’t always happen, and we certainly want to pick the best player as many times as we can,” Vrabel said. “Maybe you look at one position and we may have some returning starters, or there’s depth at that position, but to add premium players when available is something that you should probably always try to do.”
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