It’s not a secret that the New England Patriots are going to be looking to address the offensive line in this year’s NFL Draft. It’s just a matter of when and at what spot the Patriots choose to do so after using the No. 4 overall pick to select Will Campbell a season ago.
Former Patriots center and two-time Super Bowl champion David Andrews certainly knows the organization and the offensive line well. That’s what made some recent comments he made about Campbell on The Next Pats standout.
Andrews was discussing potential tackles to take with the No. 31 pick in this year’s draft. In particular, Blake Miller from the Clemson Tigers. Part of why Andrews shared that he liked Miller was that Miller is a right tackle, which wouldn’t displace Campbell. On top of that, he doesn’t believe it’s the right time to move Campbell off his left tackle spot, despite concerns that popped up during the postseason.
“Yeah, I’ve been not in a big camp of moving Will Campbell,” David Andrews said. “I just — that to me is a discussion in another year or two. I don’t believe in it. I think people think, ‘Oh, it’s easy to do.’ It’s not that easy to do, personally, I don’t think.”
Why There Are Concerns About Will Campbell at Left Tackle
GettyNew England Patriots left tackle Will Campbell
The Patriots used an extremely high pick on Will Campbell. The clear hope at the time was that he’d become a franchise cornerstone at the left tackle position, protecting Drake Maye. However, problems did pop up.
Going back to the pre-draft process, there were concerns about Campbell’s arm length. That made some prognosticators anxious about his ability to play tackle at the NFL level, signaling he might need to move inside to guard.
Then, during the season, Campbell would struggle with his consistency. In particular, after suffering a Grade 3 MCL sprain that landed him on IR late in November. He’d be activated ahead of Week 18, missing four games, but didn’t play well in his return. That included the entirety of the team’s run to the Super Bowl.
In the Super Bowl alone, Campbell gave up 14 pressures. That was a league-wide record for a single game during the season, a dubious honor to say the least.
It can be hard to use stats to grade an offensive lineman. Blame for sacks or a tackle for a loss can be on a quarterback or running back making a mistake, or a miscommunication. Still, PFF shared that he had a 72.6 overall PFF grade for the regular season. That was 32nd out of 89 tackles who qualified. He was ranked 23rd as a pass blocker and 39th as a run blocker.
Amid all that, the Patriots publicly announced they’d be keeping Campbell at left tackle in 2026.
“Specifically, when he came back from that injury, I personally didn’t see the same level of lower body strength that you saw before the injury,” EVP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf said. “I think the film (showed) that, like he probably had three of his four worst games in the playoffs. But before that, I thought Will played really well out here. I know everyone talks about the arm length, but he has a set of skills that enable him to play with that arm length. He’s really quick out of his stance. He’s technically sound. He’s adding more and more different pass sets to his tool bag that he can use to combat different rushes. And again, he’s 22 years old, and we expect some improvement out of him as well.”
David Andrews Has a Vision for the Patriots’ Offensive Line
GettyFormer New England Patriots offensive lineman David Andrews
There are a few interesting players in the NFL Draft who the Patriots could be looking at. That includes a tackle like Kadyn Proctor. However, David Andrews prefers Blake Miller because he’s a natural right tackle, and that’s where the need is going to be sooner than later.
“I like this Proctor guy. I think there’s a lot of upside to Proctor. To me, it just to the question of — let’s say Morgan Moses played left tackle. You have an older vet guy. Sure, maybe that’s a pick you take because of the upside. Look, if Morgan plays, great,” Andrews said. “But that’s not the scenario. From the team building aspect, that raises questions for me.”
Miller was an All-ACC selection three times during his career with Clemson. That was a career that spanned from 2022 to 2025 and saw Miller 3,778 offensive snaps over 54 career games, all of which he started.
“This guy is a right tackle, has played a lot of right tackle,” Andrews said. “I’ve heard from missing one practice from the wrist and all these [things]. That’s the kind of guy they are. These are two bookends. These are our two guys. They’re gonna help build this culture. We can rely on these guys to be culture builders for this room. That’s something I find very interesting.”
The Patriots, of course, have needs to address outside of the offensive line. For now, though, Andrews sees a vision for the team going this route.
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