The New England Patriots had high expectations when they selected offensive lineman Will Campbell with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Campbell was supposed to serve as Derek Meyer’s blind protector, ensuring the team’s future from opposing pass rushers.
While Campbell performed well during the regular season, everything completely fell apart in Super Bowl 60 against the Seattle Seahawks. According to Next Gen Stats, Campbell allowed a staggering 14 quarterback pressures in the game. This is the most points allowed in a single game by any player throughout the 2025 season (including playoffs).
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After that game, the 22-year-old Campbell declined to speak to the media following the 29-13 loss, according to the Boston Globe.
Campbell was reportedly asked to speak multiple times but declined before leaving the locker room.
It wasn’t the best performance for the rookie, who has had a particularly rough time throughout the postseason. During the postseason, Campbell ranked 29th in pass interception rate among 30 snaps, according to Ed Weder. Campbell was certainly one of the reasons Meyer was sacked 21 times in the team’s four postseason games.
But placing all the blame on Campbell would be foolish. The rookie didn’t play well, but he wasn’t the only player on the Patriots’ offensive line to have a rough game. According to Bremen, defender Jared Wilson has also performed poorly in four playoff games.
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While Campbell was outstanding on Sunday, he wasn’t the only reason the Patriots gave up six sacks and two interceptions. Seattle’s defense was ferocious and nearly every member of the Patriots’ roster was pressured throughout the night. All of this combined to speed up Meyer and make him uncomfortable, leading to some dropped passes and costly mistakes.
Campbell’s struggles could also be overblown, depending on which senior metric owner you trust. Pro Football Focus’ metrics list the three pressures Campbell allowed in Super Bowl 60. He’s still struggling, but probably not as much as Next Gen Stats initially suggested.
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Figuring out what exactly is wrong with Campbell should be the Patriots’ main focus this offseason. Campbell wasn’t miserable during the regular season, ranking as the No. 32 left tackle in the NFL according to PFF’s metrics. It was a promising enough performance that fans can imagine a future with Campbell improving in his second season and finishing in the top half of the league at his position.
But after huge postseason struggles, the Patriots may need to re-evaluate Campbell’s future. When Campbell exited the draft, some questioned whether he could play tackle in the NFL due to his short wingspan. Is a position change a reality after Campbell’s poor postseason performance, or will the Patriots continue to show confidence in him as a tackle?
This development adds to the roadblocks to the Patriots’ Super Bowl defeat. The entire team was exposed in Super Bowl 60, but no player put himself under the microscope more than the team’s first-round pick, Campbell.
Of course, Campbell is very young and shouldn’t be sidelined after struggling against some of the best pass rushers in the NFL. If anything, his struggles are a reminder that the Patriots were never supposed to be this good so quickly, and that the team still has work to do to solidify itself as a Super Bowl contender next season.