The first-round draft pick has been a mainstay at left tackle
Through their first two days of training camp, the New England Patriots have employed a steady rotation along their offensive line. The left guard, center and right tackle spots have all seen multiple players come in and get starter reps.
Left tackle, meanwhile, has been an area of stability. In a continuation of the offseason workout program, Will Campbell is hoarding starter reps at the position. The message is clear: the first-round rookie is here to stay and will play a major role in helping stabilize a position that has had its fair share of issues in recent years.
Campbell’s role with the starting offense is not the only way he has already made his presence felt along New England’s line, though. Two of the team’s veterans — Morgan Moses and Mike Onwenu — are already seeing a player able to lift up the entire unit.
“He’s just eager to learn,” said Moses following Thursday’s practice. “He’s hard on himself. I tell him sometimes, ‘You’ve got to give him grace.’ And he’s like, excuse my language, ‘F–k that.’
“And it’s good to see because, obviously, we come from two different types of football. I’m not saying I’m old or anything like that, but just to be able to see that attitude and aggression to get better every day, it makes me want to come in every day and get better. When you have somebody like that that is pushing you at the opposite end, that’s when you become bookends.”
An offseason addition just like Campbell, the 34-year-old Moses has taken Campbell under his wing since the latter arrived with the fourth overall selection in the draft. For the 12-year veteran the relationship they have been able to form is mutually beneficial.
“At tackle, we got a hard task at hand,” he explained. “To be able to bounce different ideas off each other, where we struggle at, where he struggles at, where I’ve been in my career, and just fix it, that’s been a bright spot in the locker room for us.”
Campbell joined the Patriots after a three-year career at LSU that saw him start at left tackle as a true freshman and never look back. Since that point, the arrow continued to point up for the 21-year-old, who entered the 2025 draft as the consensus top offensive lineman available.
The O-line-needy Patriots pounced. While the first days of practice have not yet allowed for a full glimpse at his potential — the team is still in the ramp-up period without full pads — there is definitive optimism in the building about Campbell’s outlook.
“Will’s good,” said Onwenu. “He’s a good athlete. Smooth feet. Really good player. Smart. He’s going to go out there and ball.”