Everything Mike Vrabel said about New England Patriots drafting Will Campbell

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Everything Mike Vrabel said about New England Patriots drafting Will Campbell

Nick O'Malley · MassLive

Fri, Apr 25, 2025 ·

7 min read

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Mike Vrabel's first pick as coach of the New England Patriots is in: It's LSU tackle Will Campbell .

Shortly after the Patriots took Campbell with the No. 4 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, Vrabel spoke to the media at Gillette Stadium.

Here's everything Vrabel said about the team drafting Campbell:

Opening statement

Vrabel: "For me, this is what it's about. It's about working with players and helping them believe in something and building a foundation. Adding Will to our football team, it's about a foundational piece, a young 21-year-old, that's mature beyond his years. He's a leader. He's durable. He's physical, dependable, accountable, a quick study. We spent a lot of time with him. Whatever mistakes that showed up – which they all do – he recovers quickly and can fix those mistakes. We spent a lot of time and we looked at a lot of other players and worked a lot of other players out. He made a huge impact on us, and we're excited about adding him, and I look forward to seeing him and his family here tomorrow."

Question: Was this a combination of best player and need?

Vrabel: "I think that's certainly the easiest way to look at it. That's how the board fell. That's kind of how we anticipated it going for quite a while. That's kind of where we targeted. We had some conversations to make sure that we were prepared. Those situations that we talked about a few weeks ago, prior to the draft that we went through on Monday. This was a very, very easy pick for us."

Question: Does Campbell remind you of a young Mike Vrabel?

Vrabel: "We stay out of the comparisons and that business. This is a young player who cares deeply about the team. He's a leader in that room. But to compare him to me or anybody else – no. We love his football character, his play demeanor, his play style, how coachable he is. A 21-year-old player that started 38 or 40 games in the SEC. That's something that is impressive.

Question: When did Campbell cement himself as the pick?

Vrabel: "I think probably last week when Eliot (Wolf) and I, Ryan (Cowden) and a few others went down and spent time with him and worked him out, then went and worked out a few more players the same day. We made a circuit. I think when we came back and we slept on it and then the conversations about where it will be if he was on the board. I think probably then."

Question: Is Campbell as left tackle?

Vrabel: "Yeah, that's where he started. He's a left tackle. That's what he's played. That's what he's done and so he'll come in here and he'll compete to be the left tackle just like everybody else is going to compete for their spots. That's what we're trying to create here, is something that there's competition in every position, that our players believe that the best players are going to play.

Question: When you met with Campbell, how comfortable were you with his abilities?

Vrabel: "Everybody has a play style. Everybody has a skill set. It's what you do within that skill set and the tricks that you learn in the business and how you play and how you do your job, right? I think he's learned a lot of those to play out on the left side and pass protect. For a taller player, he sinks his hips in the run game. He's able to stay attached in the pass game and ride the pocket and create the width of the pocket, get out on the perimeter. It's a total package. … His body of work is out there on the left side against a lot of really good rushers. They're all going to get beat. We can watch it every time the left tackle gets beat. They all get beat. I've been in this league for 25 years. But I'm confident in how quickly he is able to process and change and have a lot of different pitches at such a young age.

Question: If Campbell is moved to guard, do you think picking Campbell at No. 4 would be a mis-evaluation?

"Vrabel: I think that what we're focused on is where he's going to be tomorrow and the next day, and not what the mis-evaluation is. We coveted this player. This is a very good football player. I think part of the draft is adding great pieces and great players to your roster, which is what we did. He hasn't even shown up here in Foxborough and we're not going to talk about where he's going to play or what he's going to do. I'm gonna let everything really speak for itself and let his play and what he does in the community and, most importantly, on the field before we start talking about that. I just think that's not fair. I've never thought about that one time. We watched every game that he's played, put a lot of work into this and we're all excited and happy that he's here."

Question: In terms of his play style, how does Campbell fit?

Vrabel: "When we went down there and worked him out, he showed up with one purpose, and that was for us to pick him. From the time that we walked in the building to the time that we left, we got on the plane, he had one objective, that was to prove to us that he was the right player for us."

Question: What is the timeline for Campbell and his development?

Vrabel: "It's just, 'Block your guy.' They threw the ball a ton. Let's not kid ourselves. He had more dropback snaps than about anybody else in college football. They threw the ball 50 times and it wasn't RPOs like everybody else. So he's pass protected, he's run blocked, he's coming out of a pro system. The terminology he's already been through it – I don't know how many times with our guys, with me. I think it's going to be a quick learning curve as far as the scheme. Then again, there's going to be a learning curve and adjustment to everything that he does. But he's coming from a great program, one that's built similar to pro football. Football is very important to him. But just like every other player, we'll give them exactly what they can handle.

Question: Is it true Campbell knocked you around with a blocking pad?

Vrabel: "Yeah, they all knocked me around pretty good. I realize I'm pretty close to 50. If that tape ever gets out, people are gonna have some problems. So I hope that tape never sees the light of day. But I think it was important for me to get out there and feel them, feel every player that we evaluated at the line of scrimmage.

Question: How important is it for Campbell to bring the type of "vinegar" he brings to the table for an offensive lineman?

Vrabel: "I think it's one of the only ways that you can survive as a player in this league at the line of scrimmage. The playdemeanor, the finish, the effort. Well, guys on the other side are talented. That's how it goes. You don't think we can all see that? There's a lot to playing this game other than just looking good and having great technique. So we valued that, and we're going to continue to value, the ability to finish and to grind through when it gets tough, is something that we're we're going to be excited about, and we're going to give him every opportunity to develop and push him as fast as he'll let us go."

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