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The New England Patriots have put together a strong body of work early on in the offseason, but it's clear that the 2025 NFL draft is where they are going to make their money. Armed with the No. 4 overall pick, the Patriots have the opportunity to add some top-end talent on cheap rookie deals that could help them in their quest to return to playoff contention.
There are several different options on the table for New England when it comes to their first-round pick, and there's a decent chance that their path will depend on what the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants do in front of them. The Patriots have several players on their radar, one of them being LSU football offensive lineman Will Campbell.
Throughout the pre-draft process, the Pats have been heavily linked to Campbell, and yet, with the draft just a week away, it feels like Campbell is merely regarded as the “boring” pick that the team may have no choice but to make. And while that may be true in some regards, there's no doubt that New England would be filling arguably the biggest hole on their roster by bringing him to Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Why Will Campbell makes sense for the Patriots at the No. 4 pick
Before looking strictly at Campbell and his fit with New England, it's worth noting their other potential options in this draft. While Campbell isn't a slouch, the notion is that if either Colorado football wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter or Penn State defensive lineman Abdul Carter fall to the No. 4 pick, the Patriots will select them. However, that's not exactly likely to happen.
At this point, Miami football quarterback Cam Ward is all but guaranteed to be the No. 1 overall pick and land with the Titans. From there, things are less certain. The Browns appear to be leaning towards Hunter, while the Giants are likely going to pick either Carter or Colorado football quarterback Shedeur Sanders. If Hunter and Carter are off the board, that puts the Patriots in an interesting spot.
In this scenario, the ideal move would be to trade down from the No. 4 pick, allowing a quarterback-needy team to move up for Sanders. The New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, and New Orleans Saints are potential candidates to move up the board, but that doesn't seem likely to happen. Nobody knows where Sanders is going to land, but it seems likely he's going to be available for these teams when they are on the clock with their current picks, so trading up the board to get him wouldn't make much sense.
Again, anything could happen once the draft gets underway, but assuming this happens, New England is likely stuck making the No. 4 pick. The general tone of that sentence makes it seem like selecting Campbell is a bad thing, but when looking at him and the other prospects on the board, it becomes pretty obvious that he's the best possible choice at this spot if Hunter and Carter have already been picked.
Campbell is precisely what the Patriots need; a talented left tackle who has the potential to become one of the best players at the position in the league. An All-American in 2024 with LSU, Campbell went up against some of the best pass rushers in the nation during his time with the Tigers, and he rarely got beaten. Considering the turnstiles New England employed to protect Drake Maye's blindside last season, Campbell would immediately be the team's best option at left tackle the second he sets foot in the team's facility.
Like every other prospect, there are concerns surrounding Campbell. There's likely never been a prospect in the draft who's arm length has been discussed more than Campbell, with his shorter arms raising red flags for some talent evaluators when it comes to his future at the left tackle spot. Campbell held up at tackle in college, and even if he has to eventually kick inside to guard, it's not like the Patriots have an abundance of talented offensive lineman at their disposal, so that shouldn't be a major issue.
The suggestion that New England could target someone like Michigan football's Mason Graham with this pick doesn't make a ton of sense, especially after they signed Milton Williams to a mammoth four-year, $104 million contract in free agency. Yes, Christian Barmore is a major question mark after he missed virtually the entire 2024 campaign with blood clots, but whereas Carter would fill a major need at pass rusher, Graham does not hold nearly as much value for the Patriots as Campbell does.
It's been suggested that New England standing pat at the No. 4 pick and selecting Campbell is their worst-case scenario and considering all the other options that could be in play, that's probably true. Still, adding Campbell will undoubtedly make this team better, and while it may not be the flashiest move, it could end up being just what the Patriots need, even if he isn't necessarily their first choice with this pick.
