Giardi: Patriots make predictable selection, tabbing Will Campbell in round one

FOXBOROUGH - I understand why the Patriots selected Will Campbell with the #4 pick in the draft. That doesn't mean I agree with the selection this high, but I will say that Mike Vrabel had a glint in his eyes that was pretty convincing.

"It's about a foundational piece: a young, 21-year-old that's mature beyond his years," said Vrabel shortly after the selection. "He's a leader, he's durable, he's physical, dependable, accountable. He was a quick study. We spent a lot of time with him, and whatever mistakes that showed up, which they all do, he recovers quickly and can fix those mistakes. 

"And, you know, we spent a lot of time, and we looked at a lot of other players and worked a lot of other players out, and he made a huge impact on us, and we're excited about adding him."

Campbell himself was overcome with emotion on the stage. This, after telling his parents - who were with him in Green Bay - they weren't allowed to cry.

"Just all the hard work," he said, before pausing to gather himself. "I've worked my entire life to be up here. To be able to get named called by a franchise like New England means everything to me."

As I've written repeatedly over the last few months, Campbell was a terrific player at LSU. His accomplishments there are irrefutable. He was a first-team All-American this past season, has been a first-team All-SEC player for each of the last two, and was named the school's lineman of the year in his freshman season. Now, he gets to protect last year's #3 overall pick in Drake Maye.

"I'm going to fight and die to protect him with everything I got," said Campbell, endearing himself to everyone both in the building and his QB as well.

Campbell's character is unassailable. His toughness is undeniable (he started every game during his three years on campus). The kid plays with a nasty edge but rarely goes over the line. His leadership (2-time captain) is as much a part of his legacy in Baton Rouge as his play.

"When he speaks," said LSU coach Brian Kelly, "people listen. Sometimes, they get scared when he speaks."

Campbell stands nearly 6'6" and weighs around 320 pounds. However, when you watch him on tape, you'd swear you're watching a much smaller man because of how well he moves (at times). This past season, LSU used him more as a puller, and the 21-year-old handled it well because he's a good athlete; the testing numbers backed that up (32-inch vertical, 9'5" broad jump, 4.98 40). He's a sound technician, and that, my friends, is a critical point. Why, you ask?

It's because the Pats are betting on Campbell being the outlier of all outliers. His arm length is either just shy of 33 inches or right at that number. That's in the 7th percentile for all offensive tackles. His wingspan is sub 78 inches. If Campbell stays at left tackle, he will have the shortest recorded wingspan since 1995 (per MockDraftable). 

While we're at it, add his hand size into the conversation. They are 9 1/2 inches, which ESPN's Jeff Legwold says would put Campbell in the 13th percentile of all offensive tackles. There hasn't been a Pro Bowl or All-Pro tackle with that arm length/wingspan/hand-size combo over the last 25 years (and that's as far back as MockDraftable went). So, what made Vrabel and company comfortable going this route?

"Everybody has a play style, everybody has a skill set, and it's what you do within that skill set, and the tricks that you learn in this business and how you play and how you do your job, right?" he said. "And so I think he's learned a lot of those to play on the left side and to pass protect. 

"And for a taller player, he sinks his hips in a run game and is able to stay attached in the pass game, and widen the pocket and create the width of the pocket, and get out on the perimeter."

Vrabel didn't want you to think it was perfect. As he mentioned, if you throw 40 times a game, a tackle will get beat, and Campbell allowed 18 pressures last year. Those in the league who scouted him thoroughly thought the lack of length impacted him in many of those moments.

"I'm confident in how quickly he is able to process and change and have a lot of different pitches at such a young age," he added.

As I've reported at various points during this process, some teams see Campbell as a guard. I asked Vrabel if he sees Campbell as a left tackle.

"Yeah, I mean, that's where he started, and he's a left tackle. And that's what he's played; that's what he's done," he said. "And so he'll come in here, and he'll compete to be the left tackle, just like everybody else is going to compete for their spots. That's what we're trying to create here: is something that there's competition at every position and that our players believe that the best players are going to play."

Campbell will get that chance, and the Pats hope he can be what history says he can't.