‘I’m going to fight and die to protect’ Drake Maye

Patriots

“Eliot Wolf came to my practice about Week 5 of the season, and I told him, this is where I wanted to be.”

Will Campbell said he has long admired the Patriots. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

When it comes to the Patriots’ decision to select Will Campbell with the fourth pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the LSU left tackle summed out the sentiment succinctly during an interview on NFL Network.

“I’m gonna fight and die to protect (Patriots quarterback Drake Maye) with everything I’ve got,” Campbell said.

It didn’t take long for Maye to respond, with New England’s second-year QB reposting the video of Campbell’s interview on social media.

Speaking to the media shortly after he was drafted, Campbell elaborated on his upcoming task of keeping Drake Maye off the turf in 2025 and beyond.

“He’s a heck of a player, a heck of a leader, and you know, he’s the commander of our offense,” Campbell said of Maye. “I’m not only excited to play with him, but you know the rest of the team, I’m excited for the future that we have in Foxborough, and I think we got a special season coming.”

Even before Maye established himself this fall as one of the top up-and-coming quarterbacks in the NFL, Campbell said that he tabbed the Patriots as a team he wanted to join.

“Eliot Wolf came to my practice about Week 5 of the season, and I told him, this is where I wanted to be,” Campbell said Thursday night. “I told him, and our area scout, Alex Brooks, that I wanted to be a Patriot, and that happened in the middle of the season.

“I’ve had great interactions with everybody throughout the process, a lot of them — private workouts, 30 visits, just being up there, getting to meet everybody. And you know, it’s just where I wanted to be. I’m just super excited to get there.”

While a left tackle like Campbell made plenty of sense for the Patriots in this draft given their porous offensive line play in 2024, the Patriots had several other areas of need that they could have addressed with the No. 4 pick.

But Mike Vrabel acknowledged Thursday that the 21-year-old tackle cemented his standing as the Patriots’ top pick last week when New England’s top brass visited him in Louisiana to take part in a workout.

“When we went down there to work him out, he showed up for one purpose, and that was for us, to pick him,” Vrabel said. “From the time that we walked in the building to the time that we left and got on the plane. He had one objective, and that was to prove to us that he was the right player for us. I’ll say that and speak for everybody else that was there.”

As part of the workout, Vrabel reportedly grabbed a blocking pad to square up with Campbell — with Campbell admitting that he put his new head coach on the ground as part of the drill.

“I got him, I’m not gonna lie, I got him on the ground,” Campbell said of Vrabel.

“They all knocked me around pretty good,” Vrabel added. “I realize I’m close to 50, and if that tape ever gets out, there’s gonna be — people are gonna have some problems. I hope that tape never sees the light of day.”

For Campbell, Vrabel’s hands-on approach — coupled with New England’s long-standing reputation as a dominant franchise — made the Patriots a natural fit.

“I just think that the culture and the New England Patriot logo speaks for itself. I believe in the guys in that locker room,” Campbell said. “I believe in the quarterback and coach Vrabel is my kind of guy. He’s all ball, no BS, and that’s what I want to play for. He’s very hands on. He loves the players that he coaches, and I just want to be a part of that.”