Super Bowl LX performance ignites offensive line debate surrounding Will Campbell, and his future is in murky waters
What should the Patriots do with Will Campbell?
The New England Patriots are fresh off of a brutal dismantling in Super Bowl LX, where the entire offense was simply destroyed by the Seattle Seahawks. The offensive line, left tackle Will Campbell in particular, was blown off the ball the entire game, allowing Drake Maye virtually no time to operate.
Campbell’s performance has ignited the arm length debate for offensive tackles. He came in with 21st percentile arm length and a 7th percentile wingspan, both mediocre measurements for an offensive tackle that completely reduces his upside. Pre-draft, many, including myself, projected that Campbell’s ceiling would be higher inside at guard than tackle.
The Patriots ignored those takes and selected Campbell fourth overall in the draft. Campbell was fine for most of the season, but when the lights were brightest in the playoffs, he routinely got exposed, escalating the debate around him to new heights.
New England’s Will Campbell issue
The problem is: New England spent the fourth overall pick on Campbell to start him at left tackle. They spent an entire offseason swatting aside concerns around the arm length, insisting that he can play tackle in the NFL and be their franchise left tackle.
Now, he’s been exposed badly on the biggest stage in sports, and had the worst performance of his career at the worst possible time. His confidence is already in shambles. For the Patriots to turn around and move him inside might put his confidence at an all-time low, something that often takes even seasoned veterans a long time to recover. Confidence is inarguably the biggest key to playing football in general. If he doesn’t have that, what does he have?
That’s where the Patriots are at as an organization. This was the risk that they undertook when they selected Campbell over a more, shall we say, traditional tackle prospect like Armand Membou (it doesn’t help that Membou was awesome for the Jets as a rookie). Now, they’re at a crossroads with his development. They can’t afford to have spent the fourth pick on a guard, but his ceiling is forever going to be limited at tackle, no matter how much he improves technically. How they approach this in the offseason is arguably the most important storyline to monitor.
How can the Patriots help Will Campbell?
I’d probably start by getting a different offensive line coach in the building. I’ve never been high on Doug Marrone, who hasn’t produced even an average offensive line in years, and as it turns out, he couldn’t do it in New England either. The Patriots let Scott Peters walk (foolishly, in my opinion), and Marrone is more or less an NPC coaching the most important position room on the offense.
Both rookies, Jared Wilson and Campbell, got exposed in the Super Bowl, continuing a season of struggles (particularly for Wilson), and the Patriots’ pass protection plan was embarrassingly bad. New England’s offensive staff feels like the game’s passed them by, and Marrone is the perfect example of that.
Getting a new coach who can, you know, develop players would be a boon for both Campbell and Wilson.
How can Will Campbell respond for the Patriots?
The most important thing for Campbell is to simply respond with better technique in his following season. He was vertically setting far too often for an average athlete without any reach. That allows rushers to have more runway to set up power and gives them more space to work. He should, instead, be working on his 45-degree sets to cut off rushers and close down on rushers quickly. If he continues to improve his footwork and get more confidence in his sets, he’ll already be much improved from where he was this entire season.
Additionally, you can tell he’s not comfortable with his punches. It doesn’t matter how long his arms are if he’s frequently late. All that length does is let you get away with poor timing more often. He has to mix up his punches and improve his timing. That, combined with improving his footwork, will do wonders for his long-term growth.
This lack of a technical foundation is part of why I think the Patriots more or less did him (and Jared Wilson) no favors by hiring Marrone, who has been able to skate by with veteran offensive linemen but has never developed them well at any level of football. Perhaps some new blood in the room could help Campbell out vastly more than what he received this season.
New England Patriots News
Super Bowl LX loss will be blamed on Drake Maye, but it’s more of an indictment on the construction of the Patriots’ roster
Let’s not blame the Super Bowl loss entirely on Drake Maye.