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Patriots rookie Will Campbell

If second-year Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is right, then there will be some happy folks in New England. None, perhaps, happier than Maye himself.

That’s because, this week from joint practice in Minnesota, Maye was asked about the performance of rookie left tackle Will Campbell, the No. 4 overall pick from this year’s draft.

And his answer was encouraging. In fact, Maye labeled Campbell with one key word: “Beast.”

While the Patriots have a wide range of new faces in key positions, none is quite as new as the baby-faced Campbell, and no position is quite as important as the one he’s being asked to play: left tackle, the protector of Maye’s blind side.

Patriots Need a Stronger Offensive Line

New England had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL in 2024, Maye’s rookie season, and the team knows well that the key for a long, healthy future for Maye will be protecting him. The Patriots used five left tackles last season, and the one who got the most run–Vederian Lowe–was rated the 69th tackle out of 81 by Pro Football Focus.

But Maye said he has been impressed with what he’s seen from Campbell–and he said he’s been ready with advice along the way.

“He’s a beast,” Maye said. “You see a different energy out there in joint practices and games. I think I just challenge him to bring it every day. When we’re facing our defense, there’s no days off in this league. You win a game, you lose a game, you’re right back in practice on Monday or practice on Wednesday. You’re back at it with a new team and a new edge rusher that’s just as good as the one in the past.

“I think that’s what I learned last year. It’s a new week, roll it over. Play a good game. You’ve got to come back and do it again. If you don’t have a good game, you get a chance to answer the next week.”

Will Campbell ‘Doing a Great Job’

Campbell has had some ups and downs, and indeed, it sometimes appears that reports on his progress swing wildly each day–he goes from pancaking foes in 1-on-1 drills one day to being flummoxed by stunts and other trickery the next.

But defensive lineman K’Lavon Chaisson clapped back at that notion in practice on Wednesday. He said the narrative around Campbell has been just plain wrong.

“Will’s been doing a great job, for sure. There’s this weird note that’s kind of going around about Will’s kind of having like an up-and-down camp, but Will’s doing a great job, man,” Chaisson said, via the Boston Herald.

“It’s tough when you get to go get somebody every single day, you know I’m saying? So whether you kind of — you know their moves or not, but it’s still somebody that’s willing to go get you every single day and give you a battle. That’s what we kind of need as a team. So we’re making each other better, for sure.”

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney