The New England Patriots are heading back to the Super Bowl after defeating the Denver Broncos 10-7 in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. While New England is searching for its first Lombardi Trophy since the 2018 season, they need to use the next two weeks to tighten everything up.
This includes the play of left tackle Will Campbell. The fourth overall pick in the 2025 draft has had a solid rookie season but his play as of late has become a concern as bigger, faster edge rushers have gotten the best of him.
While the Patriots won the game, Campbell’s struggles continued and brought a glaring concern as the Patriots are headed back to the Super Bowl.
Patriots Need Will Campbell to Straighten Out at Left Tackle Ahead of Super Bowl LX
According to Pro Football Focus, Campbell came into Sunday’s game on the heels of two rough performances. While he had a 75.6 overall grade in the Wild Card win over the Los Angeles Chargers, he allowed five pressures and a sack going up against star edge rusher Khalil Mack.
Campbell’s overall grade of 45.8 was more indicative of his play in last week’s win over the Houston Texans, allowing four pressures and a pair of sacks.
His issues were on display early as Campbell dived for a cut block on Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto but came up empty-handed at Bonitto’s feet. A false start by Campbell also severely hurt New England before the end of the first half, as it made Andy Borregales have to attempt a 63-yard kick instead of trying from 58 yards out.
Overall, it was another difficult day that featured some slip-ups from Campbell, who once again showed that elite talent can get the best of him more often than not.
The biggest challenge has become Campbell’s size. While he was a star left tackle at LSU, draft analysts questioned if he would stick at left tackle in the NFL.
His 77 ⅜” wingspan was in the seventh percentile of offensive tackles drafted since 1987 according to MockDraftable. Campbell also did not participate in the bench press at last year’s scouting combine and it’s easy to see why as he’s getting bull rushed on a weekly basis.
The silver lining is that Campbell has still been solid in his rookie year. PFF charted Campbell with a 72.6 overall grade and 26 pressures with five sacks on 449 pass-blocking snaps this season. Those numbers could play into Campbell’s favor if he moves inside to guard, and they don't rule him out from growing into a franchise LT in the future.
But, those are long-term considerations and New England needs to find a way to get over Campbell’s current flaws in the Super Bowl, especially with either Los Angeles’s Jared Verse or Seattle’s Demarcus Lawrence waiting for him.
If Campbell can’t straighten out for at least one more game at tackle, it could have Drake Maye running like he did on Sunday and perhaps sabotage the Patriots' efforts to win another championship.