A day after the Kansas City Chiefs suffered a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that was even more lopsided than the 40-22 final score indicated, the implications of how the Eagles were able to dominate the back-to-back champions continued to have an impact around the NFL. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was able to make the game appear somewhat competitive with a pair of garbage time touchdown passes, but in reality the Kansas City dream of becoming the first team in Super Bowl history to “three-peat” died well before halftime.
How did the Eagles manage to impose their will on the Chiefs, who until yesterday had been seen as the NFL’s next great dynasty after the New England Patriots teams from 2001 to 2018? As NFL experts were quick to note, Philadelphia won the game in the “trenches.” That is, on the line of scrimmage, in the battle between offensive linemen and defensive pass rushers.
The Eagles offensive linemen were able to control Kansas City’s pass rush, allowing just two sacks of quarterback Jalen Hurts while enabling him to complete 17 of 22 pass attempts for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while running for another 72 yards and a touchdown as well.
Patriots Emulate Eagles ‘Trenches’ Strategy in Mock Drafts
The Eagles well-executed plan to handle Kansas City with down-and-dirty “trench” battles has already filtered down to the team that had the NFL’s worst offensive line in 2024, the New England Patriots. According to ratings assembled by Pro Football Network, the Patriots OL ranked dead last among the 32 teams, receiving a grade of “F.”
Clearly the Patriots need to upgrade in that area if they hope to return to competitiveness after three straight losing seasons including 4-13 records in each of the last two. On Monday, the Patriots released offensive tackle Chuks Okarafor, who missed most of last season and was expected to leave in free agency anyway. But the move also helps create space for the Patriots to upgrade the position through the draft.
And according to the first post-Super Bowl mock draft run by Pro Football Focus, that is exactly what the Patriots will do, using the No. 4 overall draft pick to take LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell.
“New Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel knows how important it is to win in the trenches — and how New England’s offensive line last year was one of the worst at doing so,’ wrote PFF draft expert Trevor Sikkema.”They owe it to quarterback Drake Maye to build a wall of protection in front of their franchise player. Scouts and coaches will love Campbell when we get to the interview portion of the draft cycle, and he’s a technician on tape.”
Campbell Projected as Blindside Protection for Drake Maye
But PFF was not the only mock draft conducted in the immediate wake of the Super Bowl to predict Campbell going to New England at No. 4. Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic and Brandon Thorn of Bleacher Report also see the Patriots going for an immediate offensive line upgrade by spending their highly valued No. 4 pick on the 21-year-old Campbell.
“There is no question that he would be slotted as Maye’s blindside protector,” Thorn wrote, explaining the Patriots hypothetical draft pick. “Campbell is the draft’s most well-rounded and polished offensive lineman with the power, athletic ability and demeanor to start at multiple positions and become a long-term answer—which is something this line desperately needs as it looks to build around Maye.”
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. Vankin is also the author of five nonfiction books on a variety of topics, as well as nine graphic novels including most recently “Last of the Gladiators” published by Dynamite Entertainment. More about Jonathan Vankin
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