The Pick is In: Pats Pick Campbell

Vrabel finds his Left Tackle with the 4th pick overall

We’ve already seen a range of emotions from the newest Patriot, Will Campbell, the tears of Draft night, and this icy glare couldn’t be further apart. (Photo Courtesy of The Internet, Friend of the Program)

Watching the NFL Draft for years as a Patriots fan meant waiting hours for the Patriots spot to arrive, only to have Bill Belichick trade out for a cache of later picks. Now that we’ve been terrible, we’ve found the Draft, and ensuing hype, can be fun to get swept up in. Which elite prospects are going to be there when we pick? Should we take the Heisman trophy winner? The outstanding running back? The generational tight end?

But a year after we took our franchise quarterback with the 3^rd overall pick, we took his blindside protector with the 4^th pick, as LSU left tackle Will Campbell became the first pick of the Mike Vrabel era. Because the first thing you do after buying a new iPhone is buy a good case for it, right? Is it as fun as drafting Travis Hunter or Ashton Jeanty? Of course not. You won’t win the talking head shows or the podcast experts on Friday by taking a offensive lineman, but it isn’t about winning the rapid reactions, it’s about winning football games this fall. (But also, paid subscribers of this Notebook did get a Rapid Reaction video from me last night within minutes of the Campbell pick. Get content like this by switching to a paid subscription! Now, back to the Notebook!)

Here's what I like about Campbell, he just finished his junior year at LSU and he was a starter for 3 years. In the SEC. It’s not every kid who can start on the offensive line as a true freshmen, but the Monroe, Louisiana native did that. I also like that he’s book ending a line with a veteran like Morgan Moses, hopefully the vet and OL coach Doug Marrone can give him every opportunity to succeed. He might be leaving Louisiana (in the broad day light) for the first time, but it strikes as the type of kid that effort will never be an issue.

Here’s what I don’t like so much, his arms are 3/8” shorter than the people who evaluate football players like and one evaluator said that his narrow shoulders is a bigger concern. He’s seen as a high floor guy, that the worst case for him is that they have to kick him inside to guard and he becomes a Pro Bowl-caliber player at the position. Now, getting a Pro Bowler is always a good thing, but it still doesn’t give the Patriots the left tackle that they need.

(Other thing I don’t like so much: the haul the Cleveland Browns got for the second pick in the draft. They got the 5th pick in this year’s draft, Jacksonville’s 2nd rounder this year and their first rounder next year. Remember when the Patriots had the first pick in the draft? We probably could have gotten Campbell at 5, plus a second pick at the top of the second round AND potentially gotten the number one pick in next year’s draft. But it’s okay, I’m over Jerod Mayo winning that week 18 game last year. Just saying.)

Here's what I love, the passion that he showed when he was asked on stage, what this moment meant to him. Campbell got choked up and I wasn’t sure he was going to be able to speak through the tears. But when he was asked about protecting Drake Maye, Campbell got very serious and said “I’m going to fight and die to protect him.”

First impressions are everything and Campbell made a good one on Drake Maye!

I don’t know what more you’d want to hear from your new left tackle. Drake Maye seems to like him and that’s worth the 4^th pick in the draft in my book.