This is it. The final positional preview. I saved my biggest concern for last. A reminder that the first day of training camp is Wednesday, but Mike Vrabel and a handful of players will be made available to us the day before. Additionally, the rookies are already in the building, and after getting second-rounder TreVeyon Henderson under contract, they have the entire group signed.
Tackles: Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, Caedan Wallace, Vederian Lowe, Demontrey Jacobs, Marcus Bryant, Yasir Durant
What I Like About This Group: Morgan Moses. I have no idea if he can hold up for 17 games, but his leadership absolutely made a difference this spring.
What I Dislike About This Group: A lot of the players brought in were not the team's first choice. I'm talking about left tackle, left guard, center, and right tackle. That's four of the five spots. Gulp.
X-Factor: Campbell. Is he capable of handling what's about to come his way?
You can't get much worse than the Patriots were up front last year.
- 31st Pass-blocking win rate
- 32nd run-blocking win rate
- 222 total pressures (per PFF/30th in NFL)
- 33 sacks allowed (29th)
If that doesn't make you want to jam a rusty spork into both eyes, I don't know what will. (Friendly reminder: don't try that at home.) It was so bad that when I recently rewatched the Pats overtime loss at Tennessee (Harold Landry study), I couldn't get over what an ass-whuppin that was. Had I not seen the game firsthand, I would have wondered if Drake Maye would survive play after play. It might be a semi-miracle that he did.
Fast forward to the first offseason under Vrabel and Company. They sent out the 'Pat the Patriot' signal to just about every free agent worth a damn along the offensive line, and maybe even a few that weren't. The silence was deafening. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley chose to stay in Baltimore, followed by Dan Moore (Tenn), Jaylon Moore (KC), and even Cam Robinson (Houston) going elsewhere. Add that to interior options like Patrick Mekari (Jax) and Drew Dalman (Chi) deciding the grass was greener elsewhere, and you can see how difficult this spot was.
So, the Patriots pivoted, grabbing Moses and then selecting Campbell with the 4th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Moses has already assumed a leadership role, and to watch him constantly converse with the other tackles is a far cry from what Chuks Okarafor brought to the table last spring/summer. In his 12th year, Moses has shown some signs of slowing down, missing six games over the previous two seasons, while also playing through some injuries that might have impacted his performance. PFF (take it for what it's worth) had him ranked 35th among tackles as a pass blocker and 41st as a run blocker. That said, he only allowed two sacks and two QB hits all year, or in other words, a typical Sunday for either of the Pats' tackles in 2024.
I have serious questions about whether the Pats would have picked Campbell had some of those free agent options worked out. But the moment they did, he became the day-one starter and someone who said he'd "fight and die" to protect Maye. Campbell is smart, tough, has good feet, and hates to lose. Those are all checkmarks in his favor. However, his lack of length (as we've discussed) is less than ideal, and so is his wingspan. Yes, it matters. How much? We're about to find out.
The hope was that Wallace would become the team's swing tackle. But by the end of the spring, he was working at left guard. Is this a best-five scenario? Or, did Wallace not do enough to convince the coaching staff he can handle playing on the edges (and that was a conversation when he was drafted)?
Lowe will begin training camp on PUP as he recovers from an offseason procedure. Lowe logged over 800 snaps at left tackle last season and played nearly 500 snaps the season prior. I'm not saying he's good, but he might need to be useful.
Jacobs ended up starting 14 games at right tackle after being claimed off waivers at the end of August. That was less than ideal. He had a decent two-game stretch in the middle of the year (Tenn, Chi), then proceeded to have his lunch money stolen repeatedly down the stretch. In fact, Jacobs should hack into the mainframe and have the Miami game in week 12 erased from every database. It was that bad. Honestly, I don't blame him. It was a terrible spot to be placed in, but the Pats at least saw enough to let him fight for a roster spot this year.
Bryant started at left tackle for Missouri, opposite the more highly decorated (and drafted) Armand Membou. He's a large human (6'7", 320 lbs) and made 42 collegiate starts at Mizzou and, before that, SMU. Bryant needs to clean up his hand placement and improve stunt recognition (it showed up in the spring). Perhaps he can push Lowe to be a primary backup.
Durant went undrafted in 2020 and ended up in KC for his rookie year before joining the Pats in 2021. He played in seven games that season, including a single start. It was an unremarkable stint, and after spending another year on the fringes of the NFL, Durant disappeared into the spring football abyss. But a strong showing for the DC Defenders in the UFL put the 6'6", 330-pounder back on the NFL radar.
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the coaching. Doug Marrone is here, in part, because of BC head coach Bill O'Brien. They are great friends, and O'Brien is also really close with Vrabel (he hired him as his DC in Houston). After spending a year consulting for O'Brien, Marrone got the job here despite having a checkered past in that role. He lasted just two seasons in New Orleans before being fired at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, and as I reported at the time of his hire, a lot of the younger offensive linemen in that program were happy to see him go. The Pats will be depending on at least one 'kid' to play a major role this year in Campbell, if not two (Jared Wilson), and would also love to coax a leap out of Wallace (year two). That may be why the Patriots have two other assistants under Marrone: Jason Houghtaling and Robert Kugler. If he can't reach every player in the room, he's got help.