Will Campbell’s Arm Length Sparks Debate: Did Patriots Take a Risk at No. 4?

The New England Patriots made a very smart decision with their first-round NFL Draft pick, selecting offensive tackle Will Campbell at No. 4 overall.

The Patriots had the worst offensive line in football last season, so nabbing Campbell to hold down the fort at left tackle and protect Drake Maye's blind side was the right move.

However, while Campbell was universally viewed as the best lineman in the draft class, there were certainly some concerns about him coming out of LSU. Most notably, his arm length was a relatively significant source of contention.

Count Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine among those who wonder just how Campbell will handle the transition to the professional level.

"That being said, it's hard to pin down what their biggest needs are because there are still so many questions," Ballentine wrote of New England. "Will Campbell is a perfect example. There are few analysts who don't believe that Campbell will be a good NFL offensive lineman. However, it's still unclear whether he'll be able to overcome his subpar length to be an NFL tackle."

Typically, linemen with shorter arms play on the interior, so remains to be seen whether Campbell's issue will prevent him from developing into a high-quality tackle. That being said, he has so many other terrific attributes that it seems like he will become a productive tackle regardless.

The Pats signed right tackle Morgan Moses in free agency and bookended the other side of the line by adding Campbell. If anything, the guard position is the more pressing area of need for the Patriots, as they have not fully addressed it during the offseason.

Either way, New England should be quite a bit better in the trenches than it was in 2024, when its porous offensive line caused all sorts of problems.