New England Patriots - NESN.com
Will Campbell has steadied the New England Patriots’ blindside.
The rookie left tackle, selected fourth overall in April, has played every offensive snap through two games. He has two false starts, one hold and one sack allowed, yet his presence already looks like an upgrade over last season’s protection. That stability matters for an offense that labored a year ago.
Draft night chatter focused on Campbell’s arm length and whether it might cap his ceiling against elite rushers. Two weeks in, that storyline has not materialized.
“Penalties aside, the arm length has not presented itself as a real problem through two weeks,” Patriots insider Phil Perry said on the Patriots Talk Podcast, as transcribed by Sean T. McGuire of NBC Sports Boston.
Perry also highlighted how Campbell stacked up against veteran right tackle Morgan Moses in Miami.
“I did not have Week 2 as sort of the over/under on when Will Campbell would play a better game than Morgan Moses,” Perry said.
Moses committed three false starts, including one that wiped out a fourth-and-5 with 1:52 remaining, as noted by McGuire. Mike Vrabel pulled the offense after the penalty and sent out Andy Borregales, whose 53-yard field goal made it a six-point lead.
Campbell has not been perfect. He committed a late false start in Week 1 that preceded a punt to the Raiders, as reported by McGuire. But the early trend is steadiness at a position that burned the Patriots in 2024.
Two games do not settle a season, but Campbell has answered the biggest question on New England’s line. For now, the arm-length debate is quiet.
