New England Patriots - NESN.com
New England Patriots left tackle Will Campbell is currently on injured reserve due to a knee ailment, but ESPN still ranked the No. 4 overall pick among the best rookies in the NFL on Wednesday.
The panel of NFL analysts and reporters placed Campbell 10th on their list after he just missed the cut in the rankings after Week 6.
“Campbell is expected to be on injured reserve until at least Week 18 with a knee sprain. But at least some of quarterback Drake Maye’s MVP push can be attributed to how well the rookie left tackle has performed,” Jeff Legwold wrote. “Campbell and the Texans’ Aireontae Ersery are the only rookies to have played at least 690 snaps at left tackle this season.”
The LSU product started each of the Patriots’ first 12 games, recording an 87.9% pass block win rate and a 70.4% run block win rate.
Campbell’s hopeful return by the postseason will be crucial to New England’s playoff run.
Patriots first-year running back TreVeyon Henderson was among a slew of players who “also received top-15 votes” from the panelists.
