The New England Patriots entered the 2025 NFL Draft with an obvious need at offensive tackler, and wasted no time addressing it. With the fourth overall pick in the first round, they brought in LSU product Will Campbell.
While there were some pre-draft questions about Campbell possibly sliding to guard due to a lack of length compared to traditional tackle standards, that is not the Patriots’ plan. Head coach Mike Vrabel made that clear during his post-draft press conference, which means that the 21-year-old now projects as the top option at left tackle.
How does that impact the position group in particular as well as the O-line as a whole? Let’s find out.
Patriots offensive tackle depth chart
Will Campbell (–): Coming off a three-season career at LSU that saw him start all 38 of the games he played in, Campbell projects as a Day 1 starter in New England as well. It is not hard to see why either: coming from the best conference in college football, he brings a self-described “nasty” attitude to the position and is already well-advanced technically while offering next-level movement skills for a player his size.
Morgan Moses (76): The Patriots signed Moses to a three-year, $24 million contract in free agency to help solidify the right side of the line. That is what he is going to do, even though his long-term outlook is unclear: at age 34, Moses is more of a stop-gap option at the position and somebody New England will have to replace eventually within the next two to three seasons. For now, however, he is the team’s undisputed RT1 and a leader off the field.
Vederian Lowe (59): Lowe showed some significant progress coming off an underwhelming 2023 season, but he still was unable to establish himself as a starter-caliber player in the NFL in 2024. With Campbell in the mix, he projects to slide down the depth chart into a more natural role as an emergency swing tackle capable of providing experience both on the left and the right side.
Caedan Wallace (70): New England selected Wallace in the third round in last year’s draft and initially planned to add him to the left tackle mix. However, that did not work out as intended: he struggled in his lone start at the position, and later suffered an ankle injury that cost him several weeks. When he returned, he was a backup at the right tackle spot — a role he projects to play heading into 2025 as well.
Demontrey Jacobs (75): Jacobs finds himself in a similar position as Vederian Lowe. He also was a starter along the 2024 line, serving as the team’s primary right tackle. Make no mistake, though: had the Patriots had any serious alternatives, he would have been replaced down the stretch. There were some positive moments, but they were too few and far between for him to make a realistic push to keep his job.
With five pure tackles on the roster, as well as emergency tackle/guard hybrids Sidy Sow and Michael Onwenu, the Patriots still remain in the market for more help at the position. As mentioned above, Morgan Moses is no long-term solution while the three projected backups are no roster locks either (with Wallace being the possible exception there).
They may not pick another tackle on Day 2, but it would not be surprising if one more entered the mix before the draft is done.
Patriots projected offensive line
Adding Campbell to the mix has a transformative effect on the Patriots offensive line. They now have a set starter at left tackle, and somebody who offers a long-term perspective the likes of Vederian Lowe or Caedan Wallace were not able to provide.
As a consequence, the projected depth chart now looks as follows:
- LT: Will Campbell, Vederian Lowe, Demontrey Jacobs
- LG: Layden Robinson, Sidy Sow, Tyrese Robinson
- C: Garrett Bradbury, Cole Strange, Ben Brown, Jake Andrews
- RG Michael Onwenu, Wes Schweitzer
- RT Morgan Moses, Caedan Wallace
The biggest questions remaining are at center and especially left guard. The name to watch here is Cole Strange, a 2022 first-round draft pick who missed most of 2024 after suffering a torn patellar tendon the previous season.
Strange began his career at left guard and showed some promise pre-injury, but returned as a center under a new coaching staff down the stretch last season. Mike Vrabel alluded to him continuing to work on his skill at the position, meaning that the Patriots might see him as a candidate to replace veteran free agency pickup Garrett Bradbury at some point. Then again, Strange is in the final year of his contract.
The problem for New England, at least from the outside looking in, is that Layden Robinson has not established himself as the clear-cut left guard either. He looked far better on that side than at right guard as a rookie last year, but there is still plenty of projection involved with him especially as far as his pass protection is concerned.
Robinson eventually losing out to Strange would therefore not be a surprise either, and neither would New England simply selecting a starter candidate at left guard over the remainder of the draft.
