The Case For Will Campbell: Protecting Maye is Patriots' top priority

Editor's Note: The New England Patriots have a host of roster needs at critical positions, but which one should they address with the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft?

As part of his "The Case For" series, Phil Perry is highlighting five different draft-day options for the Patriots and explain why each may (or may not) be the best course of action.

We've already hit on Travis Hunter and Tetairoa McMillan. Next up: LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell.

As the Patriots approach the 2025 NFL Draft, there should be one question that supersedes all others: How do they make the life of their young quarterback easier?

They’ll go as he goes, says the old football adage, and Drake Maye can only go so far with arguably the league’s worst offensive line playing in front of him for a second straight season.

So, making the case for the Patriots to take the best lineman in this year’s draft should not be a difficult one. The only issue is whether or not that lineman is worthy of the No. 4 overall pick.

Personally? I think it’s close. But here’s the case to draft LSU’s Will Campbell near the top of the first round. 

The three-year starter at left tackle for the Tigers is widely regarded as the top blocker in this year’s draft class. Yes, it’s widely regarded to be a weak draft class along the offensive line, but Campbell -- who will be just 21 years old on draft weekend -- brings plenty to the table to make him worthy of consideration inside the top five this year.

At 6-foot-6 and about 320 pounds, he has the frame of a cornerstone piece along the line. And over the last two seasons, going up against high-end rushers in the SEC, he’s earned the honor of wearing LSU’s No. 7 as the team’s top playmaker. (Campbell wore a patch bearing the single digit since he couldn’t wear that jersey number -- once belonging to legendary Tigers corner Patrick Peterson -- as a lineman.)

He’s a bear in the run game, mauling defenders at the point of attack and driving them off the ball relentlessly. As a pass-protector, he has enough quickness to redirect against lighter rushers and the power to sustain against bull-rushers.

The primary concern with Campbell is his length, which is why the measurement portion of his week at the NFL Scouting Combine will be critical.

He likely won’t have prototypical arms extending out in the range of 34 or 35 inches. But so long as he crosses the 33-inch threshold, that should be enough to put teams at ease -- the Patriots included -- when it comes to keeping him at the more valuable offensive line position on the outside.

If his arm length checks in under 33 inches? Then clubs may be more inclined to bump him inside to guard, if they aren’t already leaning in that direction. 

For legendary Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, arm length shouldn’t be the be-all-end-all for prospective pass-protectors.

“That [bleep] is way overrated,” he famously told reporters years ago. And several impact players he coached with less-than-ideal length at tackle -- Matt Light and Sebastian Vollmer among them -- had arms that exceeded the 33-inch mark.

Also working in Campbell’s favor when it comes to being taken inside the top five is this: If you want a tackle this year, you may have to act fast. 

Texas’ Kelvin Banks could be worthy of a pick in the mid-first round. Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr. and Ohio State’s Josh Simmons could last late into the first round. NC State’s Anthony Belton and Boston College’s Ozzy Trapilo could be Day 2 finds at the tackle spot, though both could be right tackles as pros.

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But left tackle options who look ready to start on Day 1? The kind of player the Patriots will need if they can’t strike a deal with a free agent like Baltimore’s Ronnie Stanley? Those will be in limited supply this year, particularly once Campbell’s name gets called. 

Of course, drafting for need can get teams into trouble. But if the two blue-chippers in this class -- Penn State’s Abdul Carter and Colorado’s Travis Hunter -- are gone by the time New England is on the clock, the consensus appears to be that there will be a 10-to-12 player contingent which projects similarly in terms of impact.

At that point, the choice facing Mike Vrabel and Co. could be taking a high-level running back, a high-upside tight end, a big-bodied wideout, or a starter at tackle -- the team’s greatest need. 

Given the hole there currently on the roster, and given the lack of options after Campbell, nabbing him at No. 4 may be what’s best for Maye’s future.

And what’s best for Maye future is what’s best for the Patriots.