Patriots make Will Campbell highest-drafted OL in LSU history

Will Campbell‘s wait is over, and the decorated LSU offensive lineman made some more history Thursday on his entry to the NFL.

The New England Patriots selected the All-American left tackle with the No. 4 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, making him the Tigers’ highest-drafted offensive lineman in the 90 years of the event.

“It means everything,” Campbell said of the significance to represent LSU and Louisiana on such a stage. “They’ve done so much for me and my family, and to be able to represent them the right way — I will never be able to repay them for what they did for me.”

Campbell becomes LSU’s seventh top-10 pick in the past seven years and ninth in the past nine, following a pair of former teammates in quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Malik Nabers in the 2024 event.

But the Tigers hadn’t had an offensive lineman selected in the first round since All-American guard Alan Faneca at No. 26 in 1998.

Campbell is a fitting player to end that drought.

The former blue-chip recruit out of Neville High in Monroe started all 38 of his games during three seasons in Baton Rouge, including All-SEC selections each year and a consensus All-America junior campaign this fall.

“The biggest thing for me was come in and leave it better than I found it in the O-line room,” he said at LSU’s Pro Day less than a month ago. “That’s something that me and (offensive line) coach (Brad) Davis talked about through my recruiting process, and I feel like I did a good job of that: you know, trying to show these guys that are in the room right now the right way to go about their business on and off the field, the way to take care of themselves, the way to approach academics and really just try to set the best example that I could.”

The 6-foot-6, 320-pound athlete had long been considered the top offensive line prospect — or, even most conservatively, one of the top — in the class and put together a historically elite testing performance at his size with a 4.98-second 40-yard dash, 32-inch vertical and 9-foot-5-inch broad jump.

Still, questions regarded his shorter arm length, measured at 32 5/8 inches at the Combine and 33 inches at Pro Day, remained as consistent a talking point as any, contributing to Campbell’s eagerness to get through the “Underwear Olympics.”

The Patriots, linked to the Tigers’ star throughout, never appeared deterred, including reports that new coach Mike Vrabel was “in love with” Campbell as his first draft pick at the helm of the franchise.

“That logo speaks for itself,” Campbell said. “But coach Vrabel is a guy who I want to play for. He’s a football guy — no ‘BS’ — and I’ve loved everything that everybody in that building was about since the first time I stepped in there. So it’s a complete honor to be able to have this hat on right now.”

And Thursday night, that relationship became official — and also turned the page from the at-times frustrating pre-draft process to the elation of a dream becoming reality and definition on where he’ll be able to “just get back to all the good stuff” of actual football.

“It’s been long, but it’s exciting,” he said at Pro Day. “I’m super thankful and blessed to be in this position and have this great program behind me. Obviously I’m gonna miss LSU — all the things that it did for me — and I could never ask for anything more from this place. But I’m just super excited for the next step, and I’m ready for it to happen. I’m sick of waiting.”

The wait’s over. Next step: Foxborough, Mass.

LSU’s 2025 NFL Draft Class

Rd. 1, Pick 4 | OL Will Campbell | New England Patriots | Story
Rd. 2, Pick 42 | TE Mason Taylor | New York Jets | Story
Rd. 3, Pick 91 | OL Emery Jones Jr. | Baltimore Ravens | Story
Rd. 3, Pick 101 | EDGE Sai’vion Jones | Denver Broncos | Story
Rd. 5, Pick 146 | EDGE Bradyn Swinson | New England Patriots | Story
Rd. 5, Pick 171 | OL Miles Frazier | Detroit Lions | Story
Rd. 7, Pick 243 | OL Garrett Dellinger | Baltimore Ravens | Story