The Early Returns on Will Campbell are the Patriots 'Love What They've Seen'
It goes without saying that when you take a big swing with the No. 4 pick at a high-value position that your franchise has been neglecting for a decade, you'd better not whiff. As a matter of fact, you can't afford to foul it off, draw a walk, single up the middle or even settle for a ground rule double. You have got to knock it out of the park.
I say this as someone who wanted the Patriots to take Will Campbell. Not dick around with trying to add picks and hope you could get him later on in the Top 10. Not to get cute and overthink it. Just get the best tackle in the country, be grateful you were in a position to still have him on your board, and call it a night.
I got my wish. And despite all the doubters in the Arm Measuring crowd, the cynics who see him as a future guard, and the skeptics who lose their shit every time he gets beaten on a rep in practice, he's lived up to my expectations through three weeks of camp and one preseason game.
What I'm happy to report is, I'm not alone in my thinking. According to one insider, the team has no doubt they've found their permanent solution at what has been an intractable problem position for years:
... processes so fast and already thinks like a veteran. He has the type of football character you wanna build your program around.”
So apart from the love, the delivering, the raving, the through-the-roof football IQ, the football character and all the building your program around, how's he been doing?
Well if last weekend's pretend game against Washington is any indication, and I'm going to suggest it is, quite well:
Pro Football Focus graded every tackle who threw a block in Preseason Week 1. That's 173 names in all. Among that huge sample size, Campbell was 4th overall. And highest among all rookies.
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And if you're not sold on the analytics crowd's ability to assess how to give him a number grade, fine. I get your hesitancy to rely on the guys who hero worship the Jonah Hill character from Moneyball. So let's instead turn to a true expert on the subject because he went from actually blocking in the NFL to breaking down film of NFL blocking. Brian Baldinger is raving about Campbell the way movie critics rave about Wes Anderson movies:
Getting to the next level and being irritating. Driving an inside defender into the turf on a double team. Hand-to-hand combat and standing like the Statue of Liberty on Drake Maye's backside. Repeating the toss-crack that worked so well at the beginning of the game and riding the DB long after TreVeyon Henderson has blown by him and then giving him the WWE finishing move. Then driving the edge rusher deep so Maye could have a lane to run it in.
Yes, it's early. Mistakes will be made. Penalties committed. Sacks allowed. That's all part of the process. But right now? Going only by what we've had in front of us? It's so far, so good. This guy is everything I hoped he would be. The guy we can trust to open holes and lay down his life for our franchise quarterback.
The future is in good hands.