The Patriots continue to stand by left tackle Will Campbell after a tough postseason debut.
Following a good start to his rookie season, Campbell suffered a torn ligament in his knee that caused him to miss multiple games toward the end of the regular season. He returned before the playoffs, but wasn’t playing his best as the Patriots went up against some of the best defenses and pass rushes in the league during the postseason.
Campbell in particular struggled during the Patriots’ 29–13 Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks, during which saw he gave up 14 pressures. Quarterback Drake Maye was sacked six times in the Super Bowl, and 21 total times in four postseason games.
Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf became the latest member of the organization to not only defend Campbell, but reiterate that they do not plan on moving him to guard.
“When he came back from that injury, I didn't see that same level of lower-body strength that you saw before the injury and I think the film would attest to that,” Wolf told reporters at the combine. “He probably had three of his four worst games in the playoffs. Before that, I thought Will played really well all year. I know everybody talks about the arm length, but he has a set of skills that enable him to play with that arm length. He's really quick out of his sets, he's technically sound, he adding more and more different pass sets to his tool bag that he can use to combat different rushes. Again, he's 22 years old and we expect some improvement out of him as well.”
Earlier this month, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said of Campbell, “Will’s 22 years old. He’s our left tackle. He’ll get better, he’ll get stronger. There’s moments where he played well, there’s moments where he blocked a guy. There’s plays he’d like to have back. We’re not moving Will Campbell to guard or center or tight end or anywhere else.”
Understandably, the Patriots are not having a knee-jerk reaction to Campbell’s play late last season. Despite concerns about his arm length coming out of college, the Patriots drafted Campbell at No. 4 to play left tackle, and do not intend to pivot from that.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patriots EVP Defends Will Campbell After Postseason, Super Bowl Struggles.
