Offensive line is the Patriots’ biggest area of need this offseason.
Most of the NFL Scouting Combine will already be in the books by the time the offensive linemen get to work. The position group is set to check in on Wednesday for the first set of interviews and examinations, but it will not enter the spotlight until later in the week.
When it does, the New England Patriots will have a close eye on it: the offensive line, and the tackle position in particular, is the biggest unknown on their roster at the moment. It consequently is the primary need the Patriots have to address over the course of the offseason.
Highly-touted prospects such as Will Campbell, Kelvin Banks Jr., Armand Membou, and Josh Simmons are therefore all candidates to end up in New England in the first round. Whether or not any of them is a realistic candidate to be picked at No. 4 overall is a different story, however, given that all four come with their own set of questions marks.
The most prominent of those might be Campbell’s arm length. The LSU product, who is widely regarded as the top lineman available, could be a candidate to move from tackle to guard at the next level due to a lack of length.
The belief is that his arms will be measured below 33 inches, a somewhat arbitrary but nonetheless important thresholds for teams. The Patriots and their staff led by head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive line coach Doug Marrone might end up looking the other way if the measurement indeed turns out as expected.
That said, arm length in itself might not be a dealbreaker for the Patriots as Vrabel explained on Tuesday.
“I think that arm length is good only up until the point to where you use it,” he told local media during a Q&A session at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “If guys are sitting there and they’re catching or they’re clamping or their hands are outside, they’re not as long as maybe they would be if you punched.”
Vrabel knows a thing or two about offensive linemen and length. Not only did he go up against them on the regular during his active playing days as an outside linebacker, he later also coached his own players to counter whatever O-linemen were throwing at them.
In addition, he spent the 2024 season getting a more extended look at the group during his time as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns. And what he learned is that while length is a plus, it all comes down to employing whatever tools available at the highest possible level.
“So much technique changes now, with having seen some of the offensive linemen and probably being with that group a little bit more extensively last season in Cleveland,” Vrabel said. “There are a lot of independent hand punchers. There are players that will punch with and independent hand and then bring a second one in or some, there are two-hand punches.
“So, I think the most important thing is how you use whatever length you have. If you’re a long-armed player that uses the length, then great, that’s an added plus. If you’re maybe an average-length player that doesn’t use the length, that would be difficult. But if you’re using it, then that can be positive.”
Campbell showed he can work with his comparatively short arms and play at an adequate level, giving up only four sacks in 38 career starts against SEC competition. Whether or not his success will continue in the NFL remains to be seen, though.
The Patriots, however, don’t appear to necessarily view his or any other prospect’s arm length as a disqualifier — at least as long as other boxes are checked.