The New England Patriots’ left tackle should be ranked higher.
The New England Patriots are on a bye week to rest and recover after a blistering 11-2 start to the 2025 season and Mike Vrabel era in Foxborough.
Vrabel inherited MVP-candidate quarterback Drake Maye, the key to the whole enterprise. He knew if he added the right pieces around him, he’d have a winner. One of the most important additions came with his first Patriots draft pick, the fourth overall in the 2025 draft, left tackle Will Campbell.
Campbell, unfortunately, is on injured reserve with an MCL injury and has to sit out three more games. His loss is huge. He’s exceeded expectations by a mile, especially among those who bought into the “too short arms and too narrow shoulders” combine measurement nonsense. Those critics are eerily silent at present.
The 21-year-old Campbell started at left tackle, the most important and difficult position on any NFL team after the quarterback, from Day 1. Only his recent injury impacts his trajectory, not only to be first team All-Rookie (a lock) but also to possibly be named to the Pro Bowl. Left tackle isn’t a glamorous a position, but without a top left tackle in the NFL, you can fold up your tent and go home.
ESPN gave New England Patriots rookie Will Campbell some love (but not enough)
ESPN has ranked the top 10 NFL rookies this season after Week 13, and Campbell is one of them. Senior writer Jeff Legwold shouted out Campbell as being a key factor in Maye’s MVP season to date.“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. Campbell and the Texans’ Aireontae Ersery are the only rookies to have played at least 690 snaps at left tackle this season.”
The question has to be asked, though: Why is Campbell ranked so low on ESPN’s list? Is it because of the position he plays, his injury, or something else? One other offensive lineman made the top 10, the Jets’ fine rookie tackle Armand Membou. There’s no argument that Membou is a top talent, but there’s a caveat.
Membou played right tackle during his college career, and Patriots seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant kept him there as he took the left tackle position at Mizzou in 2024. That’s not to cast any aspersions on Membou, though; he’s a terrific right tackle.
Left tackles are more important than right tackles
ESPN said this about Armand Membou as they ranked him fifth on their list.
“For Jets fans searching for something good to hold onto this season, look no further than the 21-year-old right tackle. The first draft pick of the Aaron Glenn-Darren Mougey regime has been a bright spot on this team and instills optimism that the new leadership might have elite scouting sense.”
The operative words in the writeup on Membou are “right tackle.” He plays on the strong side with tight end help much of the time. Campbell, on the other hand, plays the more difficult and critical position on an island, left tackle. That distinction can’t be overemphasized.
Campbell’s stats, as cited by ESPN, are close to Membou’s in pass blocking. The Patriots run to the right twice as often as to the left. If they ran more to Campbell’s side, his outstanding run blocking would grade higher and be more of a factor.
Regardless, the left tackle is the more important position, and it should be weighted more heavily in any ranking of rookies, or any other offensive tackles, as well. Both Campbell and Membou deserve to be — and will be — the tackles on the NFL’s All-Rookie team.
That’s all well and good, but to rank a right tackle higher than a left tackle who started from Day 1 and helped his team to an 11-2 record is a stretch. Campbell was ranked the best tackle (as well as the sixth-best player overall) by Pro Football Focus in their 2025 draft analysis. Nothing this season has happened to alter that ranking at all.
